Dead Loud Walking
by Dispray
Summary: Living as a middle child and the only brother with ten sisters is a challenge itself to overcome. However, things get much more complicated when a mysterious disease starts turning humans into aggressive flesh-eating monsters. Lincoln Loud's cheerful childhood gets cut off violently as he struggles to keep his family and friends safe against the living, the dead-and himself.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I-End of our lives**

"Yeah, yeah mom, I understand"

Lincoln was just nodding and agreeing to his mom's and dad's words, impatient for them to finally leave. They were leaving to visit an elderly cousin in a nearby town which he didn't bother to remember. But the best part was that only Lily was going with them while the rest of the siblings were staying and having nearly the entire weekend for them. It was just too good to be true.

"So, with that out of the way, let's go Rita. Lincoln, you're now the man in the house until we return, okay? Take care of your sisters, don't allow something to happen to them."

Or maybe they should take care of me, he joked to himself. With sisters like Lynn and Luna, he was mostly the one who was offered protection. But he understood his father's words and he would not allow his excitement over the weekend to be the reason why he would neglect his duties as a brother.

"All right, dad, don't worry. We won't leave the house until you've returned but we'll have fun at home too. We'll find a way."

Not counting Clyde's presence, he preferred staying at home and reading comics or playing video games (unless he was helping them.)

Lynn Sr. patted Lincoln on the head, Rita kissed him and hugged him, while Lincoln kissed Lily in the forehead and she happily laughed. However she was feeling quite sad that she won't see her siblings until tomorrow as she loved them deeply. The rest of the sisters had already paid their goodbyes and then returned to their hobbies while Lincoln stayed in person to see them off.

With that done, the three of them departed in the vanzilla with Rita and Lily waving at Lincoln while Lynn Sr honked at him. Lincoln returned the wave.

"Well, let the best weekend ever begin," Lincoln smiled, overjoyed with happiness.

But first he was going to check on his sisters to be completely sure that they didn't need him and that he was free to do his own activities. First he stumbled upon Lana playing in the mud by the tree with her frog. She was laughing as usual while she was covered in dirt from head to toe. For the past several days, the weather was mostly sunny but the small pool of water and mud still hadn't dried to Lana's relief.

"Hey bro, wanna join me? I could use a partner for some mud wrestling," she cheerfully exclaimed while rolling in the dirt.

"Thanks for the offer Lana, but I have some business to do. If I have the time later, I'll gladly come."

"Oki doki bro," she grinned, showing her two missing front teeth.

Since it wasn't nothing serious, I don't need to help her, Lincoln thought. Maybe I'll join her later. He thought he had seen something resembling a smokescreen in the distance but he brushed it off as imagination. He was just so excited that he stopped thinking about most things.

Then he continued to the front door but when he heard a basketball hitting the ground behind the house, he immediately entered the house not even bothering to look back. Lynn was practising outside and there was no way that he could escape her if she decided to train with her in whatever sport she wanted to. Not unless he wanted to get beat up.

He then quickly went through the house while paying attention to what his sisters have been doing. Lisa was writing down science stuff which he couldn't understand for her experiments and eating chocolate, Lola was having a tea party with her dolls, Lucy was reading her poems while thinking about ideas for new ones, Luan was writing new jokes and laughing at them while talking to herself, much to the annoyance of Luna who was composing some new songs for her to play. Lori and Leni watched TV but Lori was mostly keeping her head on her phone texting her boyfriend Bobby while Leni looked as she didn't quite understand what was going on on the show she watched. Lincoln silently giggled to that.

At last, he entered his room, stripped to his underwear and jumped on his bed, grabbing his comic and starting to read. Even though October recently started, it was still fairly warm and he could read in undies without using the blanket. He let a sigh of relief.

However, only five minutes passed and as he was about to start reading the next issue of Ace Savvy, he heard a loud knocking on his door, three times exactly. Only one sister could knock this loud.

"Hey Lame-o, you in there?", Lynn asked, with an excited voice.

Cold sweat suddenly engushed Lincoln. This could not end well for him. But then he remembered that she was playing with a basketball which means that he could survive this with minor injuries. He felt a little happier now.

"Yes, I am! But wait a minute until I-", he didn't even manage to finish the sentence and Lynn bursted in, startling him. He slightly flinched, dropping his comic to the ground. With an angered look on his face and a slight blush, he stood up to confront her.

"Did I say that you could come in? Everyone has the right for privacy except Lincoln as usual." He sighed, his angered face turning to a dissapointed one as he started to dress up.

"Oh come on, stop dramatising. You've seen me in my underwear and bra multiple times and you don't see me whining, do you?", she proclaimed slightly annoyed.

Typical Lynn, he started thinking, as he was finishing putting his shirt on. That wasn't a problem when they were younger but now their bodies are maturing and privacy should be a more serious issue now. Not for Lynn it seems. He sighed in defeat.

"Either way, you probably need a punch-, I mean a sparring partner for your techniques, right? I am just free now so I can help you," he said with a slight hint of sarcasm planted into the words.

Lynn giggled. "You must read my mind. But no, no sparring today, I know how much you like to spar with me, but we're just gonna play some ball. More precisely, I want to improve my dribbling," she replied with an equal amount of sarcasm.

Lynn was the most masculine and tomboyish sister, rivaled only by Lana, but when she acted more girly or carefree outside of her competitive attittude, Lincoln couldn't help but think that she was the cutest girl he knew at moments like this. Of course, he was never gonna say this to anyone to prevent a potential Third World War.

Lincoln just nodded and pointed at the hall, giving her a sign to go. She lightly punched him in the shoulder, and challenged him to outrace her to the yard as she stormed outside. He knew that was an impossible mission, so he just groaned, closed his door and walked off to the backyard.

"Umm, no offense but how can you dribble on the grass? Wouldn't it be much easier to do it on more solid ground?" He was genuinely curious.

"For a wimp like you, of course. But since I have to hit harder, it's better for the arm muscles and also to improve my pacing," she playfully teased him and winked.

He just shrugged as he didn't have the nerves to fight her mentally now. He had to focus on the physical part now.

Some time had passed, the clouds had slowly started to cover the sun now but it couldn't have been later than 2AM, Lincoln thought. He was trying his best to take the ball from Lynn but she was just on an another level. Maybe if he had any interest in sports he could at least close the gap a little, but as it was, his older sister was just more talented and much more hardworking than him. But that didn't bother him. In fact, he felt proud that she was so good, so he could boast her successes as his big sister's work to his friends and he was her main sidekick so to say.

However, after some bored glances at the street, Lincoln noticed something unusual. There was a man, who was slowly walking towards their direction. He shrugged it off as just some random guy and continued to try and take the ball from his big sister. But, a few more glances, and the man was slowly entering their yard. Now Lincoln looked much longer at him and what he saw terrified him.

The man wasn't walking normally, it seemed like he was limping, dragging one foot over the other. His face was in a horrible condition, his skin was brownish-yellow in color, bones could be seen throughout his arms and chest, skin tissues were hanging from his face and torso as his shirt was half open. His eyes were also unusually bright yellow and the smell from his body was disgusting, making Lincoln nearly vomit on the grass. But perhaps his weirdest characteristic was that he wasn't speaking. Or at least nothing in English. He was growling like monsters from some low-budget B movies from the 80's. Lincoln tried his best to stay composed.

"Catch, Linc!", Lynn yelled as she threw the ball at Lincoln who made some distance from her to take a better look at the mysterious man. However, the ball just bounced off of him as he didn't even flinch and landed near him.

She was both shocked and surprised at this as normally he would complain about her being too rough on him. With an annoyed voice, she asked him to drop the tough guy act and return the ball. Again, nothing. Not even a slight movement of his body. She was now getting worried what was wrong with him but she still didn't notice the limping man as she was staring at Lincoln with a caring look. She walked next to him and put her right hand on his left shoulder.

"Hey bro, everything okay?", she asked him in an unusually (for her), soft voice. Something was way off here.

"Lynn, go into the house quickly and bring your bat here. Go.", Lincoln ordered her in a calm and serious tone.

She started to complain but Lincoln just asked her to do it with a "pretty please" at the end. She nodded and ran into the house.

Then, he also noticed that Lana was sitting in the mud on the other side not knowing what was happening here. He yelled at her to get into the house and to tell Lori to call the police and the ambulance. She opened her mouth to object but when she saw the man, she got scared and quickly ran into the house, to fulfill Lincoln's order.

Lincoln was now just meters away from the man as he dragged himself slowly to Lincoln. What was he trying to do? The man looked seriously sick or hurt, being covered in blood over nearly his entire body. He deduced to try and talk to him.

"Mister, are you okay? You look like you are really in pain. I already asked my sisters to call some help, but can I do anything else for you until they arrive?", he politely asked.

But, as he was about to open his mouth again to speak, the man dropped over him, both falling on the ground.

"What is wrong with you, get off of me! I'm trying to help you!", Lincoln said angrily. However, to his shock, he opened his mouth and growled loudly at Lincoln, scaring him immensely. Lincoln was now getting pale from fear, his heart rate going higher than usual. He could feel his entire body trembling in terror under the man's weight, struggling to breath. The man tried to bite him and Lincoln barely held him off with his hands to the man's chest. But, the man was bigger and older and he easily overpowered Lincoln, leaving him helpless.

A large smack startled Lincoln, and he felt the man's weight was completely gone over him and he started to breath more easily.

"Nobody attacks my little brother, especially not in my presence. Whether they are old or young, male or female, they're gonna taste my fists, or in this case, my bat", she smirked.

She helped Lincoln up as he was genuinely thankful for her assistance. Sure, she was roughousing them often and sometimes being aggressive, but deep down she harbored an enormous amount of love and respect for her family, especially for the siblings she was closer to than the others like Lincoln and Luna. Lincoln gave her a quick hug and she returned it with a smile.

"What's wrong with this freak anyway? Why did he attack you?!", she frowned.

"I don't think he's a freak honestly, he looks like he needs medical help", Lincoln admitted in a somewhat sad tone.

That was the thing Lynn admired most on Lincoln but didn't she reveal it to anyone. His kindness, softness and naiveness was nearly unrivaled as he was concerned about the well-being of the man who attacked him seconds before.

"I dunno anything about medical help, but I can provide him with some bone-crushing services, heh" she silently laughed.

But, at their horror, the man started to rise up and growl even louder than before, causing them to jump back in fear.

"Uh, Lynn? Why is he recovering so fast? And he's even angrier than before. Maybe we should have just waited for the police to arrive and take care of it,"

"I-I-I don't know Lincoln," she gulped and struggled to say the words. She hadn't felt fear in a long time, and now the fear was growing inside her.

The man started to walk towards them slightly faster than before, stunning them. But, he heard a loud sound in their house and shifted his focus towards them. Horrified, Lincoln signaled to Lynn that they had to stop him from entering the house by attracting his attention. Lynn yelled for help in the neighbourhood, hoping someone would hear them and to get the man away from the house. But mysteriously, nobody seemed to hear her. Not even Mr. Grouse who would normally now be annoyed by this noise from the Loud House. Everything was just so quiet. Too quiet.

Lincoln didn't think twice as he quickly grabbed the nearby basketball and threw it at the man with all his might. It hit him in the left knee and the man dropped on the ground in an instant, stunning both brother and sister. Lincoln wasn't now thinking about him being sick or getting him some help. The only thing on his mind now was to protect his sisters as he promised to his father, Lynn Sr. Plus, this man was looking like he was trying to hurt them, especially considering the aggressiveness he showed to Lincoln moments earlier. That was it. He was going to stop him by force if needed.

He raised his hand to take the bat from Lynn but she was already standing by the man's side. And then she raised the bat above her head and hit the man with a wide downward swing. When the hit connected, it made Lincoln twitch, especially the loud sound. As he took a step forward, Lynn hit the man again. And again.

The last hit made Lincoln cringe so hard, he gulped as he felt sweat falling down his face. His head was now busted open and his skull was cracked. That's a skull, right, Lincoln thought to himself. The sheer thought of seeing one in real life, sent shivers down his spine and through his entire body.

"Lynn, that's-that's enough! His freaking skull is open for God's sake!"

Lynn stopped the instant she heard Lincoln yelling. In front of her, was a man lying down, with his skull open and blood dripping from his wounds. Did she really do it? Even though she was just a 13-year old girl, her strength and stamina were much higher than an average girl her age. After just 4 hits, she cracked an adult man's skull open. Maybe it wasn't her strength but her excellent technique that was responsible for what happened. Either way, she started shaking as she dropped down to her knees, her bat hitting the ground. Lincoln rushed to her side and helped her up.

"You okay sis?", Lincoln asked in a soft, concerned voice, holding her hands.

"Y-Y-Yeah, I think so", she whispered, lying to him. She could feel herself blushing as he was holding her hands and speaking in such a sweet voice. She definitely needed some emotional support at a moment like this.

"Look, you shouldn't have done this. This was my duty, my promise to dad. I'm supposed to protect you all, not the other way around. You must feel horrible at the moment." He tightened his grip on her hands, pulling her closer to him. Their eyes met as they were roughly the same height, with Lincoln being slightly taller.

Both Lincoln and Lynn saw fear in each other's eyes. Until now, they weren't showing it on the outside as the adrenaline was keeping them calm. But now, the fact that this man might be dead, chilled them to the core.

As Lynn opened her mouth to speak, the man started to growl. With their eyes wide open, they looked to the ground, not believing what was happening.

The man started to flinch, despite having a busted head. He sounded even angrier than before, looking at them with burning eyes, full of hatred and malice.

That was the moment they finally realised. This thing wasn't human. Maybe he was human before as he looked like a man but now, he was something else. No human could recover from a cracked skull in mere moments and then start moving like nothing happened. Was he even supposed to be alive at this point, the siblings asked themselves.

But one thing made Lynn happy. She wasn't a murderer like she feared after she delivered the final hit. But that was unimportant now. What mattered at the moment, was that the... creature was furious now and started to get up.

Lincoln swiftly grabbed the bloodied bat from the ground and hit the creature in the left knee, the one he hit with the ball, making him fall again. He roughly grabbed Lynn by her hand, snapping her out of her trance and entered the house, slamming the door shut.

Their sudden entrance scared the remaining sisters who where gathered in the living room. Soon they started swarming them with questions and encircling them to assure themselves if they were okay.

"Brother and sister unit, is everything under control?", Lisa asked in her distinctive lisp.

"I heard some loud sounds outside and it made me spill my tea over all of my dolls, crashing the party!", Lola angrily proclaimed.

"Bro, what was that all about? Is that guy crazy? What happened to my mud pool?", Lana was seemingly more curious about the dirt she had played in, than what was really happening now.

"I usually don't show emotions, but this one time, I'm interested in your well-being.", said Lucy in her usual quiet and bleak tone.

"Are you guys really okay? You look really bat. Haha, get it?" Said Luan, again with her puns. She pointed at the bat that Lincoln was holding and started to chuckle. Everyone groaned except Lincoln and Lynn, who were lost in their thoughts. Lori gave Luan a slight chop on the head, causing her to flinch in pain and rub the spot that was under attack.

"Dudes, you both look paler than milk. Did someone hurt you? Just say who it was and I'll settle that", she angrily said in a mock British accent while knuckling her fists.

"Oh my God, you two are like in a really bad shape. Do you need something?", Leni asked in a mix of her usual cheery voice and a dose of concern.

Lori just looked at Lincoln and Lynn with a sad expression. Something was very wrong here.

"Everyone calm down, please. We had a problem but hopefully we'll solve it as soon as possible. Lynn, sit on the couch. Luna and Luan, help her." They both nodded and gently held her hands and escorted her to the family couch.

This was a very rare sight in the Loud family. The toughest kid, Lynn, was being comforted by the other sisters. The very sight of that, made the rest of the siblings sad. Lynn had the same confused look on her face ever since she hit that thing in the head.

Lincoln now turned to Lori: "Did you do what I asked? It's a matter of life and death now." Lincoln tried to sound as calm as possible but his voice was beginning to crack and his emotions were starting to show on the surface. Everyone noticed and felt discomfort at this.

"I did but no one answered. I called them literally 20 times in a row but I got no answer whatsoever." Lori said in a frustrating voice. She then grabbed Lincoln's arm tightly and with a serious face turned towards him. All of their eyes were now on Lincoln. He felt intimidated by their glares.

"What the heck happened to you and Lynn out there? Lana said that there was a strange man outside who was walking towards you. You know that mom and dad strictly forbade us to talk to strangers for our safety. And what did you two do?!" Lori yelled at him with angry face.

Lincoln was again sweating heavily, struggling to find the ideal words to reply to his eldest sister who held his arm tight.

"I uh, I was playing with Lynn some ball and then this guy came. He looked terrible so I thought that we should help him. But then he started to attack me and I and Lynn had to fight him to prevent him from threatening the rest of you. There was no time to think."

"So you just decided to play the superhero like from your stupid comic books and endanger your life and your sister's?! I'm dissapointed in you twerp."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was trying his best to protect them, even his older sisters, and this is how got repaid? By being accused?

He angrily freed himself from Lori's grip and took a step back, startling his sisters except Lynn who was still blankly staring in the still working but mute TV.

"Don't blame me like that, it's unfair. I promised dad that I'll take care of you, even the elder ones. It would be cowardly of me to just retreat." Lincoln tried to calm himself down and spoke in a rational tone.

After hearing this, the sisters started to feel guilty. Especially Lori. Even though he was just a kid, he was trying his best to be a good brother to his sisters.

"And that's the reason why you're the best bro ever dude" Luna exclaimed, laughing.

"Aww Linky, that's so cute. You are just so adorable, I can't" Leni squealed and gave him a light kiss on his forehead. He could feel himself blushing from their kind words.

"Listen Linc, I-" but Lori was cut off by someone sobbing which soon turned into loud crying. It was Lola, she was sitting on the floor, her back leaned against the wall, her hands were covering her face on her raised knees.

Everyone turned and sadly sighed. But Lana was more annoyed than sad because she thought that Lola was having another one of her hysterical attacks or that she was just being a spoiled little brat as usual.

Lincoln's heart broke in two when he saw Lola bawling her eyes out. The worst thing that could happen to him in this world was the sight of seeing his sisters crying. It made him feel depressed and empty inside, especially if he could do nothing to help them. But now, he could help her. One of the things he knew best was how to comfort his dear sisters.

He sat beside her and pulled her closer to him, putting his arm over her back. She pulled her face out of her hands and looked at him with her big, wet eyes.

"What happened to my little princess? Why are you crying? You know that it hurts me to see any of you crying, especially the younger ones" he spoke in a very soft voice, nearly whispering.

"I-I just got overwhelmed by emotions. The thought of you and Lynn getting hurt, I just can't take it out of my head. But seeing that you are okay, makes me feel much better. Will you promise me that you won't get hurt?"

Lincoln was now barely able to contain his rapidly beating heart from jumping out of its place as he was getting overwhelmed by this sheer amount of cuteness. Even the other sisters were "awwing" in the background, feeling happy that Lincoln was their brother. Sure, Lola was perhaps the most spoiled sister and the one to resort to violence the quickest after Lynn but she was also one of the more vulnerable, as she was just a six-year-old girl.

"Don't ever doubt, Lola. We are all gonna be fine and I'll always protect you no matter what. Remember that." Lincoln hugged her tightly while wiping the tears away from her face.

"Uh guys, you might wanna see this" Leni suddenly said as she turned up the volume on the TV. The Channel for fashion shows and other fabulous stuff which was Leni's favorite was running loud now.

"Leni, please now's not the time for your fash-" Lori sounded irritated but was cut off short by the sudden change of programme. The title "BREAKING NEWS" was all over the screen. Lynn finally came to her senses, Lincoln and Lola got up and leaned on the family sofa. Everyone turned their attention to the TV and watched without breathing.

" _We are sorry for interrupting your favorite TV programme but we have some urgent news you need to know. All of the main roads that lead in and out Royal Woods have been blocked both by police forces and a traffic jam. There are many stories on what's truly causing this ruckus however one stands out, still unofficial but the most plausible, is that there is a mysterious disease or infection which causes the infected to become increasingly aggressive and even attack other people. Here we have some short tips we got from the police to help you through this crisis._

 _-Do not under any circumstance leave the safety of your house or any other object you're correctly inhabiting. If you're somewhere outside then enter the closest safe object you can and wait for help there._

- _Avoid contact with the infected._

 _-Barricade your house if possible or at least keep a low profile as sound is known to attract the infected._

 _-The last but also the most important, be careful who you trust. In this state of distress, there will undoubtedly be individuals who will try to take advantage of the whole complicated situaiton, or commit various crimes and atrocities as the police can only provide a limited amount of help as they are struggling to prevent the spread of infection along with the FEMA teams which have recently arrived to help the officials here._

 _Thanks for hearing us out and stay on guard. We'll provide you with the latest updates as soon as possible._

The programme then changed to Leni's show but she didn't seem to notice.

All of the siblings were staring at the TV with their mouths wide open. This was something they have never experienced before, the sheer amount of dread that surrounded them after hearing this terrible news, was too pressuring for their young minds. They were still kids after all.

"L-Lori can you call mom and dad to ask them if they're all right? Just to be sure, of course, no panicking" Lincoln tried to stay calm but was failing.

"They went through the Northern Highway, the one that was barricaded heavily by the police. Did they even pass through or are they still waiting there?" Lynn asked, surprising everyone. She finally started to speak normally.

"I see three possible solutions here:

1-They passed the Highway without issue and have arrived at our cousin's house.

2-They are still jammed in there, trying to get out of Royal Woods.

3-They are jammed but are trying to return home, because it's safer for all of us to be together because of this specific situation" Lisa adjusted her glasses as she calmly explained them.

"I get that dude, but isn't it weird that none of them bothered to give one of us a call or to text us about their situation? What do you think?" Luna made a good point, with a worried look and crossing her arms.

"Lincoln, you lock the door while I call mom to see how they're doing. The rest of you don't go anywhere until we've heard from our parents" Lori commanded them in a reassuring voice.

This managed to calm them down, especially Lola who managed to dry hear tears with her hands. Lana put a hand on her shoulder, feeling sorry for what she said before.

Leni suddenly screamed, startling everyone. She was breathing heavily, as she pointed at the steps with a horrified expression. Lynn's bat, that was covered in that man's blood, was lying just in front of the lowest step.

"Darn it, I forgot to hide the bat or wash the blood from it" Lincoln thought to himself, dissapointed that his sisters had to see this.

As Lola and Lana started to scream, Lincoln took a step forward from the front door.

"Hey guys, why don't we ju-" he was cut off by the window behind their TV breaking and spilling all the little sharp bits of the shattered glass all around the TV.

To their horror, someone broke it with their bare hands and was now slowly entering the room through the broken window.

Oh no, no way, Lincoln gasped. He completely forgot about the man outside. He still managed to get up even after he hit him in the knee. Wait a second, he thought. Lincoln was finally starting to make connections with the events on the News. That man was probably suffering from the same disease the reporters were talking about on TV, that would explain his aggressiveness, durability and the tendency to bite Lincoln. But where was he all this time? Several minutes had passed since he and Lynn entered the house. What took him so long?

That's right, Lincoln snapped. They are attracted to sound more than anything. When they were quiet, he didn't notice them so maybe he started to walk away from the house. But when they turned the sound on the TV, and especially when Leni screamed, that must have renewed his attention to them and that's why he crashed into their house. The TV was kinda needed to grab their attention but the bloodied bat and Leni's scream was most likely the deciding factor. Damn it, he sighed, it was his fault that this thing was entering their house by force.

As the infected man was trying to clumsily enter the house through the window, all of the sisters started to shake now in sheer terror. Even the emotionless Lucy or the eldest Lori couldn't contain their fear.

"That guy is like, totes covered in blood. I think he may be sick" Leni proclaimed.

"Really now? I would have never guessed" Lynn said in an irritated voice.

"Stop it, both of you! Everyone let's retreat upstairs and-and-" Lori couldn't finish her sentence, she was on the brink of breaking down.

"Bro get back here! That man looks like trouble!" Luna yelled at Lincoln.

Lincoln just froze in his place. The man finally entered the house and slowly stood up amid the broken glass like it was nothing to him. He didn't even flinch. He started growling at them causing the sisters to scream and ran back to the kitchen. They now started to cry, feeling helpless. Each sister hugged her respective roommate except Lisa who found herself between her two eldest sisters.

"What are you all doing?! Get upstairs and lock yourselves in your rooms! Now!" Lincoln came back to his senses and angrily yelled at his sisters behind his back.

They couldn't hear him. They were too preoccupied with being scared and comforting each other that his words fell on deaf ears.

"Even you Lynn?! Damn it! Guess I have to take things into my own hands!" he growled, grabbing Lynn's bat and taking a stance against the man who was slowly approaching him. He had to at least try and fight him since his sisters were just a few feet behind him and he had to keep his father's promise. Truth is, he was possibly even more scared than his sisters but he swallowed his fear and tried to appear tough in front of them and this freak.

The man started walking towards him and Lincoln braced himself.

"I ain't scared of yo-" his boast was suddenly cut off by a loud knocking on the door.

"Police here! You called for us, sorry for the long wait, we were preoccupied" said a deep voice behind the door.

The sisters didn't seem to notice but Lincoln was relieved. He forgot that they even called them, but they arrived just in time.

"Please, just come in, we need your help!" Lincoln's voice cracked at the end.

The door immediately opened and the police officer walked in. He was fairly tall, with a bulky build, short brown hair, brown eyes, he wore the standard police uniform and looked like he was in his late twenties. He was pretty plain looking except for a scar that ran across his nose, which was only recognizable if looked upon close.

"Freeze! Now!" the officer furiously yelled at the infected man, pointing his gun at him. Lincoln flinched and instantly dropped the bat, as he was startled by his voice.

"Kid, step back. I'll handle this"

Lincoln just nodded and took a few steps back. His sisters also snapped because of the officer's voice and slowly started to move towards Lincoln, still in fear.

"You have been infected, I know that. I've seen this with my own eyes, there is no cure for this. Except..."

The infected man growled at him and started swinging his hands, but the officer pulled the trigger, shooting him in the head, killing him instantly. His brain was splattered behind him as he dropped motionless on the floor.

The siblings screamed and dropped to their knees, covering their ears. They were trembling with fear over the sound of the bullet and the blood that was all around the head of the corpse.

"Shit, I should have warned them beforehand. This wasn't a sight for kids to see. Damn it now" the officer angrily thought to himself.

He put his gun back in its cover and checked the corpse. He didn't move at all, he was finally down for good.

Then he turned around and saw the siblings with terrified looks on their faces, slowly walking towards them. He lowered his head to Lincoln's eye level, putting his big hands on his shoulders, making Lincoln appear tiny compared to him. Lincoln winced, removing his hands from his ears and looking at the officer with fear still written in his eyes.

"Are you okay son? Don't be scared, you and your sisters are safe now. I'm very sorry you had to see this, it's my fault. Now you have to listen to me closely and do as I say, okay?" the officer said in a calm tone, lowering his deep, adult voice to make the kids feel safer.

"I'm RWPD Officer Johnny Strickland but just call me Johnny. We have several hours until night falls and we need to put that time to good use, to make sure we survive until tomorrow. I'm talking too much again. I'll let you kids calm down first and then we'll have a serious talk."


	2. Chapter 2

However, when Johnny turned around, he forgot the sight the kids were about to witness: the infected man's corpse was lying down on his back, his brains splattered across the floor, not to mention the already hideous state he was in as a result of the disease.

"Uh kids, how about you turn around for a little while, I have a, uh, little job to do here. Can you do that for me?" Johnny awkwardly said.

The Loud siblings started to look at each other in confusion but Johnny didn't wait for an answer. He immediately picked the man up quite easily with his impressive physical strength, and carried him around the house and through the back door before the kids even realised what was happening. Johnny put the man behind the garage in hope that no one would see him, especially the kids.

Then, he took an old blanket he found near the front door and then entered the house. The kids were startled by his entrance as they were still caught up in their thoughts. He swiftly passed them, leaving a trail of wind behind him because of his speed and size. He covered the entire area where the man was shot so that the kids couldn't see it. Then he finally turned to the them and started to talk:

"Well the ugly part is now behind us. Now, where are your parents or the ones responsible for you? You all are not your own, right?"

Several of the sisters opened their mouths to speak but realised who should have the word. Lori stepped forward and took a deep breath. The rest of the sisters and Lincoln looked at her with eyes full of concern.

"Our parents have gone to visit our cousin in another town along with our youngest sister. I'm the eldest here so I am the one responsible for my younger siblings until they return," Lori said, trying to sound as calm as possible.

Wait, she was responsible for them? Didn't dad tell me that I was to protect them, Lincoln thought to himself. What is going on here?

"Ah, so I see. That must be the reason why you called us in the first place. Since they aren't currently here this might be harder on our own but I think we'll pull it through. By the way, what's your name?"

"It's Lori, sir"

"Please just call me Johnny, I'm not that old," he chuckled but they didn't seem to show any sight of happiness. In fact, they might have become even sadder since they realised that all this was happening without their parents being home. He sighed.

"Ok Lori, this is what we'll do. All of you younger kids, go into your rooms. Pack some of your things in you backpacks, just in case. But also leave some room for food and water. That way we'll be prepared for anything."

"So like a trip in the forest," Lana was curious.

"Yeah, something like that. While you do that, Lori and I will stay here and have a little talk. I have something important to tell her and you kids will do what I told you, okay?"

The kids nodded which Lori found strange. Mostly their parents had a difficult time trying to get all of them or the majority of the siblings to agree on something, but this man managed to do that in a short time he had been here. His voice must have contributed greatly to that. It was both commanding and reassuring as a law enforcement worker's should be.

As all of the siblings except Lori started to climb up the stairs, Lincoln stood in his place and frowned upon Lori. She found herself confused at his sudden change of expression as he tightened his right fist.

"Why are you ignoring me Lori? What is going on here?" Lincoln sounded irritated.

"I don't understand what you're talking about, Lincoln. Explain." Lori replied.

"Well, all this responsibility stuff and you didn't even mention me. Everyone seems to ignore me like I don't exist. Should I remind you that I was the one who slowed down that sick man until the police officer arrived, and basically saved all your lives?"

The sisters stopped at the top of the stairs to hear the end of the conversation. One particular took a few steps down and stood at the middle of the stairs.

"Duh lame-o, thanks for the mention. Weren't you the one on the ground while I was smashing his head?", Lynn lashed at him with crossed arms.

Damn, I forgot about her, Lincoln sighed. It was too late now.

"Oh yeah, of course, sorry. Me and Lynn both, but either way, Lori, dad said to me that I should protect you as it's a brother's duty. Yet I'm here being commanded around by the two of you"

Lori's expression changed from confusion, anger and finally to a smile. She approached Lincoln and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Lincoln, I admire your courage and your will to help, but dad didn't mean that literally. Of course you're supposed to help all of us especially your five younger sisters as that's what big brothers are for. To be role models for their younger sisters. But that's what us five elder sisters are there for you six. To take care of you. I don't expect an 11-year-old boy to take care of a 17 or 16-year-old girl. Nobody expects that from you, we all have our jobs and responsibilities within our limits. That was dad just being, well, dad. Father-son talk, I don't know much about that. But I can assure you, don't take this too seriously, you have me, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn and now, officer Johnny. Don't worry we'll be fine." Lori patted him on the head gently.

"You're-, you're right. I may have overreacted, sorry. It won't happen again. I'll do what you have asked. Don't worry," Lincoln said through a smile.

"And that's why you're the best brother ever. Now go twerp, and the rest of you. Do what you have been told."

They all nodded and started going to their rooms. When Lincoln passed Lynn, he felt a punch on his left arm.

"Ouch!" he cried.

"Next time when you're narrating your heroic adventures, don't forget your sidekicks" she grinned at him. He sighed.

"Lynn, knock it off! To your room, now!" Lori yelled.

"Okay" Lynn sighed.

"Hey Lori, excellent pun. I'll write that one down." Luan could be heard saying along with her infamous laugh. Lori groaned while Johnny chuckled.

When her younger siblings were finally in their rooms, she turned around to face Johnny. Whatever he was gonna tell her, it wasn't good news. She could feel it.

"You have quite the dynamic household here, no?" Johnny smiled.

"Could be said so" she nervously laughed.

"Since we're alone now, I won't waste time. This is very important what I'm going to tell you and we can't afford to slack off. Please, sit down." Johnny pointed at the couch with a worried expression and sat down.

Lori gulped and sat beside him.

"I'm pretty sure you have watched the news by now and have seen the horror that is happening outside. Well, what you have seen isn't everything there is to this situation. I don't know why they didn't show it everything on the TV, maybe they didn't have all the information at the moment, or they weren't allowed to talk about it by the officials. Either way, that's not important right now. What's important is what I'm going to say next." Johnny leaned back, putting his arms behind his head and looked at the top.

Lori's fingers were intertwined with one another and she nervously played around with them while looking at what Johnny was about to say. She could feel cold sweat slowly starting to overwhelm her face.

"I have a friend in FEMA, we went together to elementary school. After all this chaos started this morning, we had a quick talk. He was talking to me about this disease, everything he knew about it. While I didn't understand most of his words as medicine bores me to hell, I did understand the key message he was trying to tell me. This disease, infection, sickness, however you call it, it's not like anything they have ever seen before. Sure there are rare medical cases that happen to one in a million people but this is something completely different. At first glance, it resembles rabies because of the victim's aggressiveness, but then when you look closely, you can see the infected victims surviving wounds which would kill any normal man. I saw a guy getting shot several times in the chest and still getting up like it was nothing. That was the moment I knew that this is something much different than anything else." Johnny then stood up and started walking around the living room with his right hand holding his left behind his back, looking at the floor.

Lori was just looking at him in shock, with her mouth slightly open. Her breathing was slow and silent.

"Now you must be asking yourself 'why is he telling all this to me'? And you are probably right. The news probably didn't say all this as not to raise a panic attack among the common folk. While I agree that scaring people with unimportant informations is unnecessary, this is crucial for everyone to know. For example, most of the civilians don't even know how to defend themselves against the infected when they get attacked. They don't know that only strikes on the head can slow down the infected. Which is the most ironic thing here. The government wants to protect the people, yet by hiding vital informations from them, they cause them more harm than good." Johnny let out a deep sigh.

Lori was lost in her thoughts, and winced when he stopped talking. She stood up, slightly shaking from this words but managed to stay calm and focused. Johnny stopped walking around and looked at her.

"Lori, I have seen how you handled your brother back there. You could have yelled at him, you could have hit him but you didn't. You showed your cool and collected side, which is what we need right now. I think that you are mature enough to take care of your siblings in the absence of your parents. And I'm gonna help you with that." Johnny smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

Lori was quite surprised at this sight. She, like most people, saw police officers as beat cops, who mostly ate doughnuts, were overweight and middle-aged, and gave tickets to people just to ruin their lives. But this young man, was different from this stereotype that most people had about police officers. He showed genuine concern for people he had just met and offering his support like he was talking to his own family, not some strangers. Could this be a blessing right in this moment?

Lincoln was sitting in his room, packing some clothes in his backpack, comics and Bun-Bun. He let a deep sigh, reflecting to how he acted out there in front of everyone. So pathetic, he thought. In this state of emergency, he was trying to be the macho man when he should have just listened to what his elders had to say. On one occasion, Lincoln thought that he was 'unmanly' as he had grown up with ten sisters, causing him to be more like a girl and less like a man. When his attempt failed, he just accepted it. That's the way it's gotta be. Maybe when he grows up he can 'man up' but right now he was the kind and soft brother to his sisters who often sacrificed his own free time to help them with their activities, while receiving little in return. But he didn't really want much from them. Just seeing them happy and laughing was good enough for a brother like Lincoln.

But, there was a spark of anger in Lincoln that was growing. Little by little, day by day, his frustration grew because he thought that he was weak and useless sometimes. Rarely, he would snap and let his anger out on his sisters but they would just laugh it up like nothing happened. Lily would smile at him and babble something in her baby language, Lola would get annoyed and hit him, Lana would throw dirt at him or some animal, Lucy would write a poem about Lincoln's mental state (her poems were quite good though), Lynn would punch him as usual, Luan would crack a pun (to the annoyance of everyone except dad and sometimes Lincoln), Luna and Leni would kiss and hug him as they found him to be the most adorable when he was angry, Lori wouldn't even notice as she was to occupied on texting her 'Bobby boo boo bear'. Even thinking about that nickname made Lincoln cringe and he shivered. If he said something similar or even suggested something like that to Ronnie Anne, she would beat him up. Deservedly so.

Lincoln hit himself lightly in the head with his palm but the impact was still heard. He lied down on his bed and stretched his arms and legs with a sigh. What was he thinking? Siblings are there to annoy each other but they still love one another more than anything in the world. This wasn't the time for these thoughts, Lincoln concluded. He'll do his best to help his family to get through this crisis until things are back to normal and so that his parents can be proud on how good of a brother he was. Lincoln smiled at these thoughts and slowly got up, intending to finish packing his stuff.

Lynn was silent the whole time she was in her room, which surprised even Lucy, her stoic and mysterious younger sister. She was thinking about all that stuff that happened with the infected man. How she hit him several times in the head without hesitation. He was threatening Lincoln, her little sweet precious brother. While she was tough on Lincoln most of the times, punching him in the arm frequently, she still deeply cared about him and loved her family with all her heart. She just had a very specific way of showing that love. By brute force. However, bullying Lincoln or abusing him in any way, is the equivalent of signing a death sentence by Lynn's hands personally. Anyone that wasn't her or the rest of the siblings, of course.

"You okay, Lynn? You seem more quiet than usual." Lucy asked her in a silent tone, while finishing packing her things.

"Yeah, it's just a small headache, nothing to worry about, Luce" she laughed, mostly faking it.

Except there was something to worry about. She had just bashed a man's head in several times with her aluminium baseball bat, and he reacted like it was nothing. Even though she was just a 13-year-old-girl, her technique and physical strength put her on a high level compared to her generation or even some of the older girls. That was the thing that terrified her the most. No human could have brushed off a beating like that.

"By the way, Luce, how do you see all this that's happening? You love all that creepy black magic stuff so this infection must be exciting for you, no?" Lynn asked, trying to shift the attention on Lucy and to temporarily forget about her own thoughts.

Lucy finished packing her things then sat down on her bed, her hands clasped in her lap and looked at Lynn with her hair covering her eyes as usual, but Lynn could deduce that she was serious even though she kept the same, monotone face most of the time.

"I would lie if I say that I wasn't excited when I saw it on the TV. I have already ideas for new poems to write in regard to all that is happening right now. But still, after actually thinking about it, I am now far less optimistic. Me, you or the rest of our family can get hurt by this, and that thought scares me. Considering that nearly nothing scares me, this should give you an idea on how serious this situation actually is" Lucy spoke, deadly serious.

Lynn stared at her for several seconds, then shook her head. She just smiled at her and nodded, then got up to finish packing her clothes.

Despite being cold and calculating, with her emotionless personality being on par with Lucy's, Lisa couldn't help herself feel but lonely when she was in her room alone. While her room mate Lily didn't speak anyway, and she preferred to work alone, unhindered, this time it was different. All of the terrible news they had just witnessed, this disease, chaos slowly spreading through the town, even she couldn't be indifferent to this. She was excited when she heard about the infection as it would be a joy and thrill to investigate it, especially find a cure or at least something to ease the pain and suffering of the victims. But now she just couldn't focus. She put some of her clothes, mostly sweaters, in her bag along with some notebooks where she had written her most important researches and science notes, hoping that it would help her in any way it can in potentially solving the infection. She sighed, sat on her chair and started writing some notes on her paper while awaiting further instructions from the older ones as she was now the youngest in the house.

Leni had the entire room for herself now but she didn't even bother looking around. She didn't even notice that Lori wasn't there, thinking that she was in the Mall with her friends or on a date with Bobby, despite being in the living room with Officer Johnny. She was hurriedly inspecting her clothes, trying to put on her favourite pieces of fashion in her bag but she had chosen too much and was struggling to make the selection of which to include and which not. This was already too much for her brain, so she started to sweat and sat down to relax a bit.

Lana was laying on her bed, playing with Hopps, not even bothering to wash all the dirt that was on her after she had played in the mud outside. Lola cringed at the sight of that, barely containing herself not to throw up on the floor.

"How can you be in your bed like that?! Have you no sense of disgust or discomfort?" Lola asked her with a frowned look on her face and her right eye slightly twitching.

"Oh relax, stop overreacting drama queen. It can't be worse than being engulfed in poisonous cheap perfume like you are" Lana chuckled and Hopps also seemed to smile.

Lola pointed her finger at Lana, furrowing a brow, and opened her mouth to speak but stopped as air left her mouth. No, calm down Lola, just like we trained, she reminded herself. Don't fall for her provocations, she's not worth your time. Groaning, she went to her mirror to continue her daily rituals of face care.

Luna was just looking at her guitar, lacking the will to pick it up and play some tunes. She was seemingly the one sister who took all of this most seriously, thinking about it with half lid eyes. This is similar to those cheap and cliché zombie horrors she would occasionally watch with Lincoln or even rarely with the rest of her family. But this couldn't be true, right? Zombies and monsters like that don't exist. They are just a work of fiction, created by humans as a big 'what-if' or just for entertainment. This was a normal disease, that was spreading fast but will eventually get cured and everything will get back to normal. But what if it doesn't? What if the army and the scientists don't manage to stop the infection, what if the entire country gets swarmed by victims, the entire world…

Luna would have swam deeper in her thoughts if not for her happy-go-lucky younger sister Luan chuckling at her own (bad, cheesy) jokes. Luna's body twitched as she got back to reality and groaned.

"Hey Luna, when people get milk spilled all over them, and if someone asks them if they're all right, do you know how they reply?" Luan excitedly asked, barely containing her laughter.

"No, I don't. How do they reply?" Luna's voice was irritated but she already knew where this was going.

"I'm not all right, I'm all white." Luan let out her infamous laugh, exposing her buck two front teeth.

Normally, Luna would groan at this and roll her eyes, and if she was in a bad mood, maybe even give her a small punch to the arm, but right now, she actually found it funny and laughed with her. When she was lost in her thoughts, feeling a little depressed in this bad situation, she actually needed some comedy to cheer her up, even if that was Luan's cheesy puns. Even Luna couldn't believe what she said next.

"Hey dude, can you tell me more of your jokes? I'm really in a mood for some good laughs" Luna smiled.

Luan's eyes went wide open.

"Why, of course! Just wait until I grab my newest collections of only the best Luan Loud jokes!" Luan nearly screamed in excitement.

A part of Luna regretted saying this but a bigger part of her agreed with this. She needed something to temporarily escape her dark thoughts. Even if that was Luan's puns.

Johnny was nervously walking around the living room while Lori was sitting on the couch and thinking about all that Johnny had told her. She was so lost in her thoughts that she even forgot to text Bobby ever since they called the police. She finally took her phone and asked Bobby how was he and what was he doing. No reply. She immediately suspected the worse, even though only a minute had passed since she sent the text.

"Was I right to tell her all that?", Johnny was thinking to himself with a sigh. She is the oldest and the most mature but still, she's pretty young. Maybe that was too much information for her, maybe she's now more scared than aware which was Johnny's original intention.

"Uh, Lori? There's something that I should tell you while we're still alone. I need your opinion" Johnny turned around and took a step closer to Lori, directing his gaze at her eyes. Lori gulped.

"How can I help?" Lori was getting nervous, there were enough bad news as it was already, she didn't need another bomb dropped on her.

"Remember when you called the Police like 20 twenty times in a row? At that moment, there was total chaos in the Station. Our cells were overflowing with criminals, some of them infected, most of them were handcuffed in the hall or the offices themselves because there wasn't enough room for every arrested man or woman behind the bars. Anyway, phones were constantly ringing and we didn't have enough men free enough to answer all of them. That should tell how much crowded it was. But luckily for you, I traced back the call after you finished, and found out that the Loud family lived here, and that you had a very large family of 11 kids plus parents living together. So I chose to go and help you, ignoring other calls. Now you tell me, is it wrong if I chose you over someone else? Even though it was critical enough for you as that man was threatening you and your siblings and God knows what would have happened if I didn't arrive at time, maybe, just maybe there was someone even more in need of help. But I had chosen to go here because I thought a larger family would need more help as it has more members to worry about. Please tell me I did the right choice."

Lori couldn't believe what she was hearing and seeing. Officer Johnny appeared much more vulnerable and relatable now then when he was giving orders minutes ago or shooting that infected man. He was a very compassionate man, investing himself fully to help others, people he didn't even know. Like a real man should do, she thought. She slightly blushed.

"Well, I'd say it's no pro-" but before she could even finish her answer, an explosion could be heard outside. Both Johnny and Lori were startled, and nearly fell on the floor because of how scared they were.

"W-what's h-happening?!" Lori started panicking, her breathing was getting faster and faster, barely being able to connect the words.

Johnny's expression turned to anger. What now? Like they didn't have enough problems and now this is happening!? He turned towards Lori and ordered her to go upstairs, and gather with her siblings in one room and lock themselves in. He was going to check outside what happened. Lori was in a trance for a few seconds but when he grabbed her by the shoulders she snapped back to reality and Johnny repeated what he had said with a grim tone. She nodded slightly and quickly ran upstairs to gather her younger siblings in her room.

Johnny went outside and locked the house just in case. He could hear screaming and crying all around him, despite the situation being relatively peaceful just now. There were police cars, SWAT vans and military trucks all around the neighbourhood. Were they evacuating the uninfected and quarantining the infected? But where was FEMA in all this? Surely they would have sent their specialized teams who were trained specifically for this situation. This was getting too suspicious, Johnny thought to himself.

However, he was interrupted in his thoughts when a man rammed himself into Johnny and knocked him down.

"What the hell is the matter with yo-", Johnny yelled as he got up but stopped as he was about to finish his rant: the man had several gunshot wounds on his stomach and was spitting a large amount of blood from his mouth and nose. He was lying down on the street, his hands twitching over his stomach.

"Please, please...", the wounded man was desperately saying.

"Oh no, sir, you are seriously injured, we need to get you to the hospital as soon as possible. Let me ju-", but Johnny was interrupted again but this time by the man's ominous words.

"Don't...trust...them...they...are...killing...everybody...no...matter...if...infected...", the man seemed like he wanted to say something more but stopped. His breathing got slower and it looked like he was going to leave this world. Johnny looked at him in shock and then the direction from which he came from-a bunch of military personnel. No, that was not it, right?

"What the fuck is going on here?" Johnny said disgusted.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Johnny was shortly lost in his thoughts but he quickly snapped out of it when he remembered about the injured man that was lying down on the ground beside him. He lowered down to his level and started checking his pulse.

"Sir, are you still there? Please hold up, I'm calling the ambulance for you now", Johnny said, visibly panicking.

Or maybe he should just call the military forces that were some hundred meters away from him down the street and save this man's life. He didn't have much and most likely wouldn't have survived if he waited for an ambulance. But then Johnny remembered his words about the Army.

"Don't trust them, they are killing everyone".

Those words starting echoing in the young police officer's ears. No, no way, right? Maybe he was accidentally shot, maybe it some prisoner on the run or some thug. In these types of situations, the military was the one who should help the civilians the most, to fully provide their services along with other law enforcement units. And not just because it was their duty in their uniforms but also because of human compassion, mercy and selflessness. But the louder the sounds were around him, the more he was losing faith.

Suddenly, Johnny's phone started ringing, causing him to twitch. He nearly forgot he had one with all that has happened. He answered it. It was Ryan, his Police partner.

"Man, are you okay?! A lot of shit has happened for these past few hours, please tell me you're okay!", Ryan's voice was full of worry, which was quite unusual of him.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm fine, thanks for asking. How are you, how's the situation there?"

"Oh, thank goodness. Eh, I'm not gonna lie, it's not good. It would an understatement to say that our cells are overflowing. With infected people eating healthy people, all of the scum has crawled up from whatever place they were hiding and saw it as a chance to do whatever is on their sick minds like theft, robbery, manslaughter and so on. It's chaos in the whole country. Enough about that, where are you now, what are you doing?", Ryan was much calmer now.

Johnny took a deep breath before starting to speak:" I received a distress call from a family with a bunch of kids and their parents are currently out of town, so I'm taking care of them now and I'm figuring out how to get all of them to safety".

A few seconds of silence occurred and then a laugh could be heard from Ryan's side.

"Johnny, you have always been an idiot, you know that? Forget about them man, let's just get out here. Most of us have agreed to hop on the Army's APCs and trucks and get the hell out of here. This town is lost, it's only a matter of hours before it's completely overrun. We'll retreat to a much better position and plan our defenses there, you can't save everyone man, you just can't.", Ryan's voice was starting to get irritating.

How could he be so heartless, Johnny thought to himself. Ok, he was never the most compassionate type of man or policeman but this...they are just kids, that changes everything. But Johnny hid his anger and tried to sounds as polite as possible.

"Listen, Ryan, I, I'm just gonna say this and then I have to go, the situation's getting tense here. Can you stall them all for, I don't know, some few hours at least, I'll get to the Station somehow with all of the kids. Please, I'm begging you, like a fellow police officer, a friend and brother. Can you do that for me?"

"You never change, do you? Always thinking about others more then about yourself, eh? You're too naive Johnny but okay, you have until tomorrow noon at the latest. If you're not here by then, sorry mate but those of us who manage to survive will leave somewhere safe. Good luck bro." With that, Ryan finished the call.

Johnny felt happy at the moment. He managed to buy himself and these kids some time. Maybe he could have asked Ryan to pick them up? No, it's probably not possible at this moment, too dangerous. Johnny arrived at the Loud House escorted by a fellow Police officer who had a call somewhere near here. He tried calling him but to no avail, he wasn't answering.

"I sure hope he's okay", Johnny thought to himself.

As he tried to go back to the house, he nearly tripped over the wounded man.

"Oh fuck, I forgot about him!", Johnny immediately started to check his pulse but he was long gone. How could he forget about him? Strangely, his body was rather cold, which was odd considering that his talk with Ryan wasn't longer than a minute or two. However, sudden gunshots startled him, they came from the directions of the military.

And there, finally, Johnny had seen it with his own eyes. People were being shot by the soldiers, mercilessly, like they were enemy soldiers and not some innocent civilians. However, not everyone was being shot, some of them were chained or knocked out and put into the trucks. But unfortunately, most of them met their demise.

Suddenly, something grabbed his leg. Johnny looked in horror as the wounded man that was freshly deceased, became an infected. He started to growl and opened his mouth to bite Johnny's leg but Johnny kicked him a few times and managed to get him off of him.

"How the fuck could this happen? He wasn't bitten as far I saw or was he?", Johnny was clearly nervous, he knew that a bite caused people to turn but this? Dying?!

Unfortunately for him, this small ruckus also attracted the attention of the dozen soldiers that were down the street, and they were preparing to go towards him and to continue to inspect the houses.

Johnny quickly ran into the house upstairs and entered Lori's room where all of the kids were stationed. His sudden burst-in left them startled and frightened but he quickly reassured them.

"Sorry for entering like this but we have a big problem. There ar-", but he was cut off by Lynn and Lincoln asking about the loud noises outside what sounded like gunshots.

"No time to explain, there are some evil men coming for us right now. All of you, grab your bags that you stuffed your things in and we have to hide somewhere. Do you have an attic?!"

Lori nodded and showed him the way. He quickly brought down the stairs and the kids all got up with Johnny entering last. He lifted them up and locked the door. Lola and Leni were trying hard not to cry but Luna and Lincoln were comforting them.

"Now listen closely, I'm only saying this once. Don't speak, don't move, don't do any silly things. Don't do anything except breathing, ok? Find some comfortable position if this goes on for long, nobody moves or does anything until I say it, am I clear?", Johnny sounded both reassuring and commanding. They all managed to nod and quickly silenced themselves to prepare for what was coming.

"Put your hands over your mouths or bite on something just to be sure that you don't make any sounds", Lisa advised them.

"That's smart, girl. What's your name?", Johnny asked her.

"Lisa, sir."

Lisa, I'll try and remember it, he thought. One of the things he hated most about himself, was his tendency to quickly forget names and having trouble remembering them.

Suddenly, the front door busted open and several soldiers entered the house. They were heavily armed, with M16A2's and M590 shotguns on their backs. They were wearing MOPP Level 4 outfits in full gear, which was used during a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) strike.

These guys aren't kidding, Johnny thought. He was only armed with a G22 with two reserve clips, even with a terrain advantage he could take out one, maybe two of them but the instant they compromise their position, they would shredded by gunfire from bellow, creating a massacre. No, that can't happen. Only in the direst need will he use his weapon against such overwhelming odds.

The soldiers quickly started entering the rooms, one by one, looking for any survivors. Their loud footsteps were echoing through, vibrating through the attic floor. They didn't bother being silent. Then, another gunshot was heard.

"What the hell, that sounded like it came from the street. Tim, go check it out", the oldest looking of the group ordered the one who seemed like he was the youngest.

Tim left swiftly outside and saw a soldier on the street being eaten by the old man that attacked Johnny recently.

"Get it off, get it off me!", the poor soldier was screaming in pain, while the infected man was biting through his stomach, with his intestines being clearly visible. Tim's vision was starting to get blurry, and he could feel his stomach twirling from the inside.

He never actually saw an infected feast on a man since the start of the outbreak and now he was alone in the street while all this time he was in a group, safe and sound. Tim firmly grasped his weapon and pointed it at the infected man.

"I'm sorry, sir but I ha-", but he didn't even get to finish as he felt a bite on on his leg.

"What the fuck, aaaghh!", he shrieked in pain while an infected was chowing on his leg. He fell down on his knees as two more infected fell on him and started biting on his arm and neck, respectively.

He was slowly losing consciousness but strangely it didn't hurt. He could feel himself floating away, somewhere far away from this chaos on Earth. He didn't even want to be a soldier in the first place but now it was too late. I had to honor my father's dying wish, and I don't regret it. I served my country until the end, were Tim's last thoughts as he passed away. A bald eagle could be heard in the distance.

"Where is that kid, we still have the upper floor to check", the old sergeant was getting annoyed. He just shook his head and ordered the rest to follow him upstairs.

"Shit, look at all of these rooms, there seems to be a lot little brats here. Split up and search every room. Leave no survivors.", the sergeant rasped.

"Be glad that I'm not down there to knock your teeth out you old geezer", Lynn mumbled.

"Nothing here, sir."

"Clear."

"Each room is clear, sir. No one's in this house", the soldiers reported.

"Well then, seems like the only place we still haven't checked is the attic", the sergeant laughed.

"You two, bring down those stairs."

The Loud kids and Johnny found themselves slowly suffocating. If they find them up there, what happens next. They'll kill them? Capture them? Beat them up? Normally in situations like this, people should be overjoyed to see the military but after Johnny had seen what atrocities they had committed, the situation changed completely.

Johnny took out his gun and pointed it at the door that led downstairs. This was it, he was forced to fire upon his own soldiers, the one who were tasked with protecting the citizens of this country. How ironic.

Cold sweat was running down his face. No amount of psychological training could have prepared him for this moment. The kids also weren't feeling good. Even the (most of the time) emotionless Lisa and Lucy were met with stunning fear in preparation for what was going to occur.

However, the sergeant's walkie-talkie suddenly ringed.

"Sergeant MacMiller, are you there? Over."

"Affirmative, Tiger One. What's going on? Out."

"Abort any current mission you're having. You have to get the hell out of there, we're getting overrun. This town is doomed. You have five minutes to get your asses over to the starting point or we are leaving without you-"

MacMiller didn't even get to reply as the connection was cut off.

"Fuck this. Let's get out of here, I don't to end in a freakbag's stomach today."

He chuckled to his own joke which no one seemed to reciprocate. They stormed out of the house only to see waves upon waves of the infected swarming the streets and killing and eating the poor bastards that were unfortunate to be caught in their path.

"Jesus fucking Christ," one of the soldiers exclaimed, disgusted.

"Come on, move your asses, we don't have much time!"

"What about Tim? He was on the streets!"

"He's fucking dead! Just go!" MacMiller yelled at them and they started running towards the other soldiers and the APCs.

"Man this is some fucked up shit", one of the soldiers could be heard saying.

"Why, I'm enjoying this", MacMiller laughed.

"Hey Johnny, are we clear to go? I feel numb from being in the same place for too long", asked Lynn, visibly annoyed. She definitely wasn't the type to be in one place for a long time, unlike Lincoln.

"Why are you complaining, I could live with this", Lincoln laughed. Soon he felt Lynn's punch on his arm. Who would have guessed?

"Quiet, all of you. Looks like they are gone, I'm gonna go check to be sure. Nobody move until I say otherwise", Johnny was deadly serious now. They nodded.

He slowly unlocked the door and let stairs down. Very carefully, he descended bellow, trying to make as little sound as possible. So far so good, he thought. The upper floor seemed clear. Now, for downstairs.

He readied his gun just in case as he went down the stairs. Same as above, not a single soul was in here. Just as he was about to rejoice, a loud growling interrupted him.

"What in the-", Johnny was cut off unexpectedly by windows being shattered and zombies nearing the front door. Shit, they left the door open, Johnny panicked. He quickly closed and locked the front door but the infected were already entering the house through the windows. Johnny looked in horror when he saw the entire house being encircled and surrounded by the infected people. They were attacking other houses too and he could hear the screams of the ones unfortunate enough to fall prey to these hordes of monsters. Monsters. For the first time, Johnny thought about them as monsters, some creatures that weren't human. Because, what human would function if he was shot to dead?!

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, however, an infected grabbed his shoulder but Johnny quickly knocked him out with the handle of his gun.

"Shit, there's too many of them, I can't kill them all, back to the attic!", he quickly rushed upstairs, entered the attic and locked the door again. All of the Loud kids looked at him, with their eyes wide-open.

"Well, kids, I have good and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Bad", Lucy said grimly.

"What, are you crazy? The good ones, of course.", Luna frowned upon her.

"Yeah, I agree, we should first hear the good news. Sorry Luce", Lincoln tried to appeal to both of his sisters.

"So it's decided", Luan said cheerfully as she clapped her hands.

"Sigh", Lucy rolled her eyes but nobody could actually tell that she rolled her eyes because of her hair.

"Well the evil men have left for good and they won't be coming back", Johnny tried to sound as reassuring as possible.

"Finally, I can go and take bath, I smell so badly after this old and disgusting attic!", Lola was complaining.

"Oh come on, this atmosphere is awesome! It's like my natural habitat", her twin replied to her while playing with a spider that had a web nearby. Lola eyed her with an angry look.

"And what are the bad news?", Lori asked calmly.

"Well, you see", Johnny nervously laughed,"you can probably hear it for yourself."

As he pointed to the ground, the kids finally realized. They heard growling and bumping on the walls.

Leni screamed but Lori and Luna put their hands on her mouth to silence her.

"Quiet Leni, if they hear us, we're dead. Please, stay silent.", both of them tried to their best to help her.

Lynn pointed her finger at Johnny with an angry look and started ranting:"What were you doing down there? How could you let them in, I thought you were a tough cop who would 'protect' us or some shit like this. How could this happen?!", she was visibly angry at him but kept her voice down in fear of the infected. All of the kids looked at her in shock.

"Lynn's what the matter with you? He had been doing his best, don't blame him.", Lincoln tried to calm her down.

"I understand you anger but I did what I could. There's just too many of them, the literally swarmed through the windows with sheer force and kept entering despite me locking the front door. There was nothing that could be done about this. Please, you have to understand.", Johnny was relatively calm despite the girl lashing out at him.

"Okay about that, but you have a gun, you can just shoot at them or beat them up. And what about the military, they should be taking them out. Or even better, just give me my baseball bat, and I'll take care of them since you adults are incapable of taking a few freaks", Lynn knew she was losing the argument but she kept going. She couldn't show that she was weak in front of her siblings.

"About the military...I don't know what to say honestly. I'm also disappointed at them just as you are, but that's it about them, they are gone. I don't have enough ammunition for them all. I wish I did but sadly I don't. And finally, even if you had your bat and went down to fight them, you'd get eaten alive the instant you step foot on the floor. Try to picture that in your childish mind, this isn't a movie or video game where you can kill a hundred zombies without breaking a sweat. This is real life, one mistake and you're gone. Forever, kid."

Johnny's words hit them all like a hammer. Everything sounded so simple in their childish, innocent minds but the harsh and cruel reality was much worse. Lynn hung her head down in shame. This man genuinely trying his best and she had the audacity to attack him?! She really had crossed the line here.

"I'm sorry sir. I truly am. I just got carried away, let my emotions get ahead of me. Please forgive me", Lynn kept her eyes on the floor.

Johnny smiled and gently pat her on the head.

"Don't sweat it kid, I sense bravery in you, you just have focus it on the things that are in front of us and you'll be good. Okay?"

"Okay, sir", Lynn lifted her head and smiled.

As Lincoln was looking on, one word stuck with him. Zombies. He didn't even have time to think about it, but these infected people were behaving just like the fictional zombies that he loved to watch and play video games about them. Both of them ate people, were creepy looking, with blood and guts all around them. Maybe I'll get to enjoy this after all, Lincoln thought to himself.

Then he felt like he was hit by a heavy hammer over his head. What enjoyment?! People were getting torn apart, killed, mutilated, chaos everywhere. This was no video game or a movie. This was the real life. And he had to grew up more quickly than he wanted if he wanted to be the man his father expected him to be.

Lori saw that Lincoln was deeply immersed into his thoughts but refrained from asking him about it. He has to realise some things on his own, she thought.

"Have you tried calling your parents again? Or should I do it for you if you have forgotten your phone downstairs?", Johnny asked, hoping that if they heard their parents' voice that they would cheer up from their current sunken selves.

"No need, sir. I have tried several times but to no avail. No connection at all. Seems like the line has been cut off for good", Lori replied, visibly sad.

Johnny sighed.

"Should have guessed that. With this chaos happening outside, those infected must have to do something with it. They probably cut off the cables with their wild and aggressive behaviour, or even if the telephone poles were destroyed with all the fighting that has been happening, or the car crashes. It's a miracle that we still have electricity."

The kids stayed silent. Of course, he didn't expect anything else, he told them the harsh truth, which only made them sadder as they were really worried for their mother and father as well their youngest sibling, Lily.

Then he remembered the favour he asked Ryan. They had tomorrow until noon at latest to go to the Police Station. He had to find a way to get the hell out of here and it was impossible at the moment because of the infected that had entered the house. They had to wait for all of them to leave or at least to somewhat lessen their numbers so that they could escape towards the Station.

"Okay kids, let's just get straight to the point. There are a ton of them bellow, right now it would be suicide to even step foot between them, let alone try and run past them. I can't take all of them out, I don't have enough ammunition. So, should we wait for them to scatter a bit and then make our move? What you have to say?", Johnny tried to have a normal communication with them, not only them agreeing with everything he says or just answering his questions. He could see that these kids were quiet smart and mature for their age. Well, most of them.

"Uh, Lisa, couldn't you just make some potion or whatever to cure all of this disease stuff. Or. I don't know, make some super-weapon, to wipe them all out. I'd like to wield it first!", Lana exclaimed.

"Well, maybe, older sister unit, if I still had my equipment. But since that nasty...accident, mom and dad units banned me from any more experiments and sold all of my lab stuff. For a fair price though.", Lisa blankly stated.

"Ah, heck with that! For once we need your super genius skills and it's unavailable", Lana grumbled.

Lisa just crossed her arms with a sigh.

"And they're too many for me to bash them with my bat. Granted, I first have to retrieve it from my swarmed room", Lynn was quiet furious.

"What should we do then?", Lori asked, seemingly everyone.

"I have a plan", said Lisa while pulling her notebook from her bag where she was writing some stuff ever since this chaos began.

"Judging from my written notes about them, movement and sound attracts them. And we have been quiet loud since they entered the house".

Luan chuckled, startling all of them, even Johnny.

"What is wrong with you?!", Lynn yelled at her.

"That's a good one Lisa! 'Quiet loud', I'm gonna have to write that one down!", Luan cheerfully exclaimed while writing in her pun collection.

Lisa appeared unfazed, adjusted her glasses and continued talking:"Like I said, they focus more on their sense of touch and hearing than sight. In this particular situation, I'd advise that we take one position and silence ourselves completely or as much as we can. No sudden moves or any at all, only breathing should be present. Then, after an unspecified amount of time, they should start to leave, one by one, until they have scattered enough so that we can safely pass without any of us getting hurt. What are your thoughts on this, fellow human beings?"

Lincoln and Lynn looked at her with opened mouths.

I don't understand what you're saying but I agree. We should wait for them to leave and then strike them-or just sneak up and escape, both ways are fine by me", Lynn said.

The other siblings started thinking about this but eventually concluded that this was the safest and best option they had available. They nodded in agreement.

"Since all of you seem to agree on her request, we're gonna do it. It is indeed the best and probably the option we have right now that'll help us stay alive", Johnny said with a smile.

"I'm hungry", Lana yawned.

"Yeah, me too", Luna and Leni said at the same time.

"I second that", Lola agreed.

Lucy, Lynn and Lincoln just watched silently while feeling their stomachs making weird noises.

"Ah man, we didn't even manage to grab anything to eat ever since this chaos started. How are we gonna wait if we're hungry?", Lynn complained.

Shit, I totally forgot about this, Johnny thought. He could endure the hunger and thirst but these kids? No matter how tough, they are, this is still a big thing to overcome.

"Seems like it'll be me again to save the day", Lisa calmly stated, while opening up her orange bag. Lincoln noticed it but found it odd since everyone had one bag while suddenly had two.

"Uh Lisa, where did you get that orange bag? You were only carrying your green one", Lincoln asked confused. The rest of the group also seemed to notice.

"Good question, older brother unit. When our parents took my equipment, I did manage to hide one invention, this food preserving bag. Any type of food can stay for a long time here without getting spoiled. I hid it here just in case something like this ever happened, and who would have ever guessed that a day would come that we actually need to use one", Lisa explained.

"Aw, little sis, you're the best", Luna exclaimed cheerfully and proceeded to hug Lisa as tight as she could. The other Louds joined her. Johnny couldn't help but genuinely smile at this innocent sight. It temporarily made him forget about the apocalypse that was happening outside.

"This reaction was expected", Lisa barely managed to said, struggling to breath under the invasion of hugs from her elder siblings. Not that she wasn't enjoying it, though.

When the finished their hug, each of the kids and the young police officer took some of the food Lisa preserved and started to eat. After finishing it and drinking some water, Lisa packed the reminder of the food in the bag and put it near the wall.

"I think that we have expended about a quarter of our supplies from that bag, which means we can have 3 more meals and drink sessions before we expire. But of course, we should be able to find some more food before that happens. Now let us do what we have planned-everyone lay down and relax, you can even sleep if you want, just try to move as little as possible and wait for the infected to hopefully leave our house", Lisa pronounced.

They nodded. Everyone found their own space and lay down, trying to get some sleep or rest while a dozen of flesh-eating monsters were roaming bellow them and through the entire city and country.

The one who was the most concerned, however, was Johnny. It was afternoon now, and if they waited too long, night would fall and it would be even harder to to escape from the infected if their vision is impaired. I just hope we're able to escape safe and sound before the dark, he thought to himself. Johnny close his eyes and found himself floating in his dreams.

Several hours had passed, and Johnny could hear some talking and someone poking him in the cheek and nose.

"Stop doing that, it's rude! You have to wake him up by words not by touching him"

"Oh come on Lame-o, this is the faster way, plus nothing's gonna happen to him, he's a police officer", Lincoln and Lynn were arguing about how to wake Johnny up.

He slowly opened his eyes and got up. Johnny looked on his phone, it was 9 PM. Fuck, it's already too late, he angrily thought to himself.

"We're sorry for waking you up, sir, it seems like the majority of them retreated. We should try and go down bellow now", Lisa said. All of the other siblings were also awake and ready to go.

"Oh, really? That's awesome", Johnny tried to sound as positive as possible. While it was good that the infected were seemingly gone, on the other hand it was dark now outside and night had fallen. Plus since nobody turned the lights on in the house, it was pitch black around them except for their phones.

Johnny took out his flashlight and gave it to Lincoln. He asked him to hold it over the door towards bellow so that he could open since he couldn't see in the dark. He also advised the other siblings to prepare the lights in their phones just in case.

"Ok, I-I can do this", Lincoln said, trying to hide his fear. Trying to survive zombies was scary enough in daylight, but when it's dark, it becomes a whole new level of creepiness. Zombies, he called the infected zombies again.

Johnny nodded and announced that he was going down. He took his gun and was prepared to shoot any infected that tried to threaten them. When the stairs were lowered bellow, they gave a little creak, startling the kids but Lori managed to calm them down.

"Well, I'm going down, nobody moves until I stay so, is that understood?", Johnny ordered them.

He took a deep breath and slowly descended down. So far so good. He signalled Lincoln to throw him his flashlight, which he did. Johnny quickly checked all of the kids' rooms and the bathroom, all seemed clear. Downstairs was also clean. They were ready to go. Hopefully.

"Hey kids, the house is clear, you can all come down now, slowly and be cautious", Johnny whispered as he climbed upstairs.

"We'll go from oldest to youngest, prepare yourselves. Don't forget your bags.", Lori said to her siblings. They nodded.

One by one, the Louds slowly descended to the second floor. Lisa gave Johnny the orange bag with the food so that he could carry it. As they were getting ready to leave, Lynn quickly sprinted to her and Lincoln's room to bring something.

"Where are you going?!", Johnny tried to suppress his anger.

Lynn returned with her bat and Lincoln's pet toy, Bun-Bun.

"Sorry, I had to bring my little brother's toy so that he wouldn't cry", Lynn playfully teased her younger brother.

"Oh thanks Lynn", Lincoln replied, blushing.

However, unlike the one wooden, standard one she used against the first infected, this one was made of aluminium, which she got from her father as a present for winning a recent tournament. It was red, with a black handle and "LYNN 1#" was painted on the bat in white colour. Normally, Lynn wasn't using this bat, but she had to now as this one was much more lethal that the wooden one.

"Ok, everyone listen now. We are going to the police station. That's one of the safest places right now in the whole city, if not the safest. I'll try to do everything in my power to get all of you there safely. Just stay close to one another, hold each other's hands so nobody gets lost. Remember to keep quiet unless something bad happens. Let's go", Johnny instructed them.

The group slowly left the house. They were infected outside but not nearly as much as there were today. Seems like they really did leave after finding nobody here. But could also mean that the whole neighbourhood was either gone or eaten. It's better not to think about that now, the priority was getting to the station safe and in one piece.

The night was unusually dark but Johnny tried to ignore it. The Louds held each other's hands tightly and were walking right behind the police officer. Johnny was holding his gun in his right hand, ready to use it at any suspicious movement.

Slowly but surely they passed by their house and went in the direction of the police station, which was towards east. Meter by meter, they went further away from their house, while being occasionally startled by the growls of the infected. Was this really the same place as today? Where did all the zombies go? As good as it was to have some few zombies to sneak past them, this was getting suspicious.

After some few steps, Johnny suddenly stopped. The Loud siblings nearly bumped into each other because they were too close to one another.

"Hey, what's happening? Why did we stop?", Lynn asked, trying to stay as quiet as possible while still being loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Shh, quiet everyone. This is strange...", Johnny's voice was silent and full of insecurity.

The kids were exchanging looks between themselves because the police officer was acting weird.

"Shouldn't we keep going now that there are less of them than there were before?", Lori asked curiously.

Johnny turned towards them and eyed them with a serious look. The kids were startled a little.

"See, that's what I find weird. Where did all of them disappear? Not that I mind it, though, but it's just odd. Just forget it. Let's g-", but Johnny stopped mid sentence. He looked in horror in front of him.

A giant horde of the infected was approaching them, coming from the same side that led to the station. The entire street was quickly swarmed by them, blocking the group from advancing any further.

"Fuck! Everyone, back to the house, now!", Johnny yelled at them while grabbing Lincoln's and Lynn's hands and running towards the house. He didn't choose who to grab, it's just that these two were the closest to him. The rest of the siblings immediately followed and found themselves quickly in front of the house.

"Now we just have to check the house if it's sw-, no wait come back!", Johnny screamed as Luan rushed to the house, scared, as she just wanted to get away from the infected.

But rather ironically, an infected bursted out of the house and fell atop of her. Nobody managed to do a thing as the zombie bit her leg just a bit higher than her ankle. Luan screamed in pain as the zombie looked at her with its cold dead eyes and a chunk of her meat in its mouth.

A cold sweat suddenly hit Lincoln. He could feel his blood getting boiled, as he quickly grabbed Lynn's bat and sprinted towards Luan and hit the zombie as hard as he could in the head. The infected fell to the side while Luan lost consciousness. Lincoln dropped the bat and cradled Luan in his arms. How could this happen? In an instant, just like that. But this was not the end of his sister, right? Luan would bounce back and survive this. Lincoln knew that she could.

However, as his attention was focused on Luan, the infected rose up and walked towards them. Lincoln seemed to completely forget about him, but Johnny shot the zombie in the head, killing it, before it could reach the brother and sister duo. The shot startled the other siblings out of their trance following this horrible sight that they had just witnessed.

Fuck, fuck it all, Johnny thought, both sad and angry. He should have acted faster, shouldn't have allowed her to enter the house so recklessly...but maybe this was how it's meant to be. God, what was he thinking?! She was just a child! Nobody deserved this, especially not a child.

Johnny shook his head and quickly went to Lincoln, gently pushing him aside and putting Luan on his back. However, the gunshot earlier attracted all of the infected that were in the Loud's neighbourhood. They slowly started to walk towards them, forming several small groups of zombies along with the massive horde that was coming from the east, the direction of the police station.

"Shit, they are coming! We have to run somewhere safe! This house is not safe anymore, I'm sorry kids", Johnny's voice was full of regret.

"Clyde's house", Lincoln said blankly, without a hint of any emotion as he slowly walked towards them while looking at them with his eyes widely open.

"What?'', Johnny was confused.

"There, north of here. There is still some empty space, let's go there", Lynn yelled at them.

"Good idea Lynn", Johnny replied, "move, everyone", he commanded them.

The whole group started running like there was no tomorrow. They managed to run past the ring of the zombies that was slowly encircling them.

"Where are we going exactly? And who is this 'Clyde'?", Johnny asked, while running with the wounded Luan on his back.

"You'll see soon enough, sir, for now, just keep running", replied Lynn, who was unsurprisingly the fastest with Johnny being right behind her.

Johnny looked at her and then forward. Hopefully that 'Clyde' has some damn good and safe house, he thought to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"Just a little more, guys. We can do it, come on.", Lynn encouraged the group, as she was the fastest.

They were running for one minute at least in the northeast direction, towards Clyde's house.

"I'm, I'm running out of breath. I'm gonna fall, this is too much for me", Lola complained while struggling to breath. Her cries seemed to attract the nearby infected and they started to turn their attention towards the surviors.

However, Lola suddenly slipped and fell on the ground. She shrieked in pain. Everyone stopped and turned around.

"Continue running, I'll get her. Go!", Johnny ordered them. They obeyed and continued running. He grabbed Lola with his left hand while securing Luan with his right as she had her arms and legs wrapped around his neck and hip, respectively.

"Hold on just a little longer, girls. We're almost there", the young police officer whispered.

Johnny quickly reached the rest of the Louds, while the zombies started to get near them.

"Everyone, we're here. That house up there, that's Clyde's house", Lynn said, clearly excited.

A large house, with purple roof was right before their eyes. On the mailbox, the surname "McBride" was inscribed.

The group managed to run to the house and stopped right before the front door. There were no lights in the house and it seemed like it was abandoned. Still, Lynn didn't want to lose hope.

She ringed the doorbell several times, no answer. Lynn then urged Lincoln to talk to Clyde or his dads to unlock the door and let them inside. Luan was seriously injured and needed help and there was a group of the infected gathering outside and they definitely didn't want to cross it. They had enough zombies for one day and night.

"Luan is in bad shape and she needs help", Lincoln looked at the floor blankly and kept repeating the same sentence over and over again.

What is this, this guy has lost it, Lynn thought. She angrily punched him in the arm, however he didn't react. She reached the intercom and started speaking:"Clyde? Are you there? It's Lynn, please open, everyone's here, including Lincoln. Luan is wounded and she needs help, we are being chased by these freaks and...just open if you're there, please". Lynn could feel her eyes getting wet. Only now did she realise what happened to her older sister, the one she was the closest in age to. One of the infected bit Luan, taking a piece of her alongside him. Hopefully, they could just bandage her leg and she'll eventually recover.

But, Lynn's thoughts were cut short when they heard the door getting unlocked. When the door opened, an African American boy with glasses was behing it. It was Clyde.

"Hurry, get in. Before they appear again.", Clyde urged them to get in. They didn't wait long, the entire group quickly entered the house.

"Into the living room but be quiet. Don't turn on any lights, it''ll atract the infected. Use your phone's light so you don't trip on something. I'll go and get the first aid kit. Meet you there", Clyde pointed to the living room and went to his bathroom. The group slowly entered the living room while Lori and Luna lighted the way with their phones. Johnny gently put Luan and Lola on the couch, to let them rest. He sat on the floor and laid his head on the edge of the couch. The rest of the siblings also sat or laid down, either on the floor or the couch but they were careful not to touch the two most vulnerable at this moment, Luan and Lola. They needed to rest unhindered.

But the strangest thing was that the majority of them didn't react to Luan's injury. Except Johnny and Lynn, the rest of the siblings seemed to still be in a state of shock and denial, not grasping the current situation. Maybe this was a good thing afterall, as after Luan got better, they would forget that this happened and move on to a safe place.

Johnny was deeply immersed in his thoughts. How did that zombie get in the house? He had closed and locked the front door when they left the house. While the windows where broken, and it would take them a while to climb to the inside, the reason why they swarmed the house a few hours ago, was by piling up in front of the window, that way the infected started climbing on top of one another, basically using themselves as a leverage to easily enter the house. But he had checked every room in the house and it was clear. There was no way that someone entered the house as he had closed the front door after making sure the house was empty...or was it? Think Johnny, think. Wait, there was a room downstairs. The only bedroom that wasn't on the second floor. It must have been the parents' room. But he had checked the entire room, except the closet. The closet? There was no way that specific one was there, right? This wasn't on me, right? She was gonna be fine, Johnny tried to talk himself out of feeling guilty.

Even if there was a zombie inside, that still doesn't explain how he managed to open the front door from the inside when Luan went to enter the house. Johnny made sure to close the door. Except that creak, nothing was unusual. Creak? Maybe the door was damaged when the zombies entered the house after the soldiers left earlier that day. Too many 'ifs' and 'maybes'. The well-being of Luan was the most important thing right now, he concluded.

"Sorry that you had to wait too long, it took me a while to find the first-aid kit, but here it is", Clyde entered the living room but nobody seemd to notice him as everyone was deep in their thoughts.

Clyde was using a flashlight his fathers left him if he ever had to use it. And he deduced that using only a flashlight and not the regular lights in his house would ensure that the infected would not get attracted to his house.

"Clyde, what have you been doing this whole time? And where are Mr. Howard and Mr. Harold?", Lori spoke to him, surprising Clyde.

"Dad Howard is sick so dad Harold went with him to the hospital. I wanted to go with them but they said that it was too dangerous because of this disease that was spreading, so they told me to lock the front door and wait for them in my room. However, I still haven't heard from them and I tried calling them several times but to no avail. I'm really worried for them, I hope that they're okay, dad Howard looked really sick.", Clyde replied trying to hold back tears. Lori and Lynn looked at him with a sad expression.

"But enough about me, what happened with you guys? Are Luan and Lola okay?", Clyde asked them.

Lincoln was just staring at the ceiling, occasionally babbling some words which no one seemed to understand except the word 'Luan'. Except Lori and Lynn, the rest of the sisters still didn't seem to understand what happened to Luan, Lola was slowly getting better from her exhaustion, while Luan herself was still unconscious.

"Lola fell but she's already better. The problem is with Luan though, she was bitten by one of those things near her ankle", Lori said and only now did she realise what had actually happened to her younger sister.

Clyde opened his mouth to speak but was stopped when he felt a huge hand on his back.

"Don't be scared buddy, I'm a police officer, my name is Johnny. Listen Clyde, thanks for letting us in your house but we're gonna need your help again. Hold your flashlight over Luan's right ankle, that's where her wound is located. Lori, here's my flashlight, and light the kit so I can see what to use, okay?", Johnny instructed them.

The two of them nodded, and did as he asked. He grabbed a gauze, a bandage, scissors and a bottle of medicine alcohol from the first-aid kit. He took a deep breath, and looked at the bite wound.

A good amount of meat was missing, even the bone could be seen. The blood seemed to be clotted, but it wasn't the usual red, more like a dark red or even black at some points. The smell was starting to get really nasty and unpleasant, judging from Lori's and Clyde's grimaces.

"Okay, I can do this.", Johnny whispered, trying to boost his morale, somehow.

He drenched one gauze in alcohol, and started to clean the wound. Luan didn't seem to react at first but after some time, she started to twitch, as the pain seemed to wake her up slowly.

"Just a little bit and we're done, hold on until then girl", Johnny said, while sweat was slipping down his forehead. Girl? For God's sake, he didn't even know her name. Truth is, he only knew the names of the eldest girl and only boy, Lori and Lincoln respectively.

Johnny shook his head. That was the least of my problems now, he reassured himself. I have to take care of her wound first, that's the most important thing now.

After he finished cleaning, he took the bandage and starting wrapping it around the wound as tightly as he could. He wrapped it several times until the end of the bandage was reached. After he took a clip, he secured the bandage so that it couldn't fall down.

"There, that should do it", Johnny returned the alcohol and scissors in the kit while he threw the used gauze in the trash bin.

"Is she going to be okay? Should we go to the hospital?", Cylde asked nervously.

Johnny sighed. "The hospital is too far away to go on foot now, and not to mention too dangerous. Plus she wouldn't survive going so far in this direction even if I carried her. She needs to rest as much as possible. I'll try and make a call to my friend who works as a doctor if he can get us some transport or if at least someone with more medical expertise can come and look at her", he replied to Clyde, while pulling out his phone. Its battery was running low but Johnny was hoping that he could make at least one more call.

The young police officer went to Clyde's room and started typing his friend's number.

"D, D, D, ah there it is. Doctor Jay."

After a few seconds, someone picked up the line.

"Yes, who is this", an unknown, female voice asked.

"Um, it's Johnny. Where is Jay?", Johnny was quite confused, as he knew that Jay didn't have any assistants or a girlfriend. Jay was an Internist, who worked on his own.

"Doctor Jay is currently in work and can't pick up now, I'm sorry", the female voice replied, after which she started to cough.

"You okay? Anyway, just tell him that it's the cop Johnny, and it's urgent. We were classmates in Elementary School, he'll listen to me, please."

"Whatever, wait here", the female voice was now getting irritated and sighed.

What an ass, Johnny thought.

"Johnny? Is it really you? Are you okay mate?", Jay's voice was full of worry and compassion.

"Yeah, buddy, I'm fine, thanks for asking. How are you holding up?"

"Eh, I can't complain. I myself am fine but the people that I have worked on today, Jesus Christ. This infection is the worst things I've ever seen", Jay got straight to the point.

"I can only imagine, the situation in the field is also horrible. This entire day was more exhausting than anything else in my life. I have seen some terrible things but I'm trying to ignore them and look on the bright side and to the future. Long story short, I'm taking care of a huge family now, there are ten children, nine girls and one boy. One of them got bit around her ankle, I have cleaned the wound and bandaged it but I don't think that it's gonna be enough. She needs professional help, in a hospital. That's one thing. The other thing concerns the boy that is seemingly the friend of these kids and we're currently staying in his house. One of his fathers is sick and the other left with him presumably this morning, but the boy hasn't heard of them since they left. Can you check out what happened to them please? That boy is worried sick but he's not showing it, he's trying to stay tough. His parents' names are Howard and Harold McBride", Johnny had finally gotten to the point of why he called Jay in the first place.

"Ok, I'll check it out. Hold on a sec, I'll call you again", Jay stood up and left.

After one or two minutes, Jay called Johnny. He picked up.

"And? Did you check it out? What happened to them?"

After a few seconds of silence, Jay started talking.

"I did. Howard was bitten in his right arm, just bellow the elbow by an infected man. Harold drove him here and they had to amputate the arm by the elbow, but the infection continued to spread so in the end they cut off his entire right arm. He then entered a coma from which he didn't awaken. After half an hour, he passed away. But then, the nurse heard some screaming from his room and was horrified by the scene she just witnessed: the zombified Howard was eating the poor Harold. His entire stomach was open but he couldn't do nothing to stop the man he loved. Soon after, the soldiers arrived and shot both of them in the head to end their suffering. They were lead by the infamous Sergeant MacMiller".

Wait a second, did he say 'MacMiller'? Is this the same guy that had entered the Loud house and nearly executed us all but then the infected 'saved' the kids and me? Johnny's head was full of questions but little there were little answers.

"Either way, yeah, I feel bad for the poor boy. Both of his dads are gone, one of them killed the other. Such a tragic fate for the two of them. Whether or not you'll tell the boy what happened to his parents, I'll leave it up to you, I trust you."

"Thanks Jay, I appreciate it. I'll think about it when I should tell him. Now tell me about Luan, will you call someone to get her over to you, or should I bring her to you?", Johnny's voice was starting to get shaky. This girl was bitten, and maybe it was his fault. It most likely was your fault, you failure of a cop. No, it's not like that. An inner voice was getting louder and louder that was attacking Johnny with self guilt and shaming him constantly. No, not like this. He could keep blaming himself and doing harm to anyone around him or he could ignore all of it and just focus on Luan's well-being.

"Regarding that, Johnny, I ain't gonna lie to you. You're my friend and you deserve to know the truth", Jay's words were getting heavier after one another.

"What...truth...", Johnny prepared himself for the inevitable, he sat on Clyde's bed in case he might lose fall from the sheer nervousness that was filling his entire body.

"I haven't seen anyone so far to survive a bite. If their arm or leg was bitten, we would amputate it but shortly after that, they would either die from blood loss, or infection. We even had several necrosis and gangrene cases. This infection, disease, seems to attack your immune system, your blood cells, basically your entire body. It just spreads so rapidly that you can't even do anything, even if by some miracle we had some cure. The only thing that isn't certain, is how much time do victims need to turn into an infected, or as some call them, zombies. That seems to depend from the immune system of the victim. I'm sorry Johnny, but there is no hope for that girl. You have to destroy her brain before she turns and endangers you and the rest of your group. I'm sorry man, really, really sorry." Jay could be heard taking a deep breath and then he hung up.

Johnny didn't react to that at all. His phone fell out of his hand and hit the ground. A crack could be heard and the screen was shattered. That was the least of his worries. A black screen suddenly appeared before his eyes. You killed her, she will die because of you, you are a failure. You are...no, stop it! Johnny grabed his head, grinding his teeth and falling on his knees. Why does this have to happen to me? His thoughts were eating him up inside, like a worm eats an apple. But there was no choice. Luan was gone, one way or another. He might or might not be the reason for her death. Johnny stood up, tightening his fists. I won't let the others die, I can't let it happen. I owe it to them, to their parents, to Luan. Johnny lowered down and picked up his phone. This was it, he had to tell the kids the dreadful news. Everything is gonna change after this.

The police officer entered the living room and to his surprise, Luan was awake. The girl was still laying down, but she was talking with the rest of her siblings, like nothing unusual had happened. Johnny took a deep breath. How was he going to do that? By looking at them, just talking so innocently, like it was a normal Saturday night and they were exchanging laughs and jokes, like all brothers and sisters liked to do.

"Luan, you're awake? That's good, like really, really good. I, I'm glad, for all of you.", Johnny was trying his hardest not to break down and start crying like a little kid. They were thought that they had to stay objective and not to let emotions get in their way. But, he was struggling with his emotions so hard, never did he feel this way before. To be responsible for someone's death, no feeling can ever top this in terms of guilt.

Lincoln stood up and smiled.

"Yeah, she's much better now. I'm sorry for how I was acting before, it's just that seeing Luan like this really hurt me. I wasn't in control of my body. But thank you, Johnny, for getting us all safely here. I know that we can get through this with you as our guardian.", Lincoln couldn't hide his happiness after his older sister had awakened from her 'sleep'.

"I never believed that I would say this, but I'm really glad to hear your jokes Luan", Lynn cheerfully exclaimed, lightly punching Luan in the shoulder.

"Hey watch it! She's still injured!", Lori roared at her. Luna just smiled while playing with Luan's hair.

Oh God, I can't do this, Johnny's thoughts were swallowing him up inside. How would he even do this? 'Hey kids, I'm sorry, I have to shoot your sister in the head before she turns into a flesh-eating monster'. No, there has to be another way.

"Thanks, Mister Johnny, for saving me. Sorry for running in there blindly without your permission. I really am grateful for everything that you're doing for our family", Luan spoke, but very silently as she was still weak from her wounds.

"Don't even mention it, kid. Just doing my job", the police officer kept his tone serious, not to sound suspicious.

"Now if you'll just excuse me, I'm gonna take a quick nap again. Then we'll continue talking. Wake me up in half an hour again", Luan said, her voice even weaker than before.

"The rest of us should also take a quick break. Then we'll see what to do next", Johnny said, while sitting on the floor. They agreed and started to relax themselves a bit.

However, after only about ten minutes, Lola started screaming:"Luan's not breathing, she's not breathing, help!"

The rest of the group immediately got on their feet and Luna and Lincoln rushed to her.

Clyde quickly turned on the lights.

"She really isn't breathing!", Luna exclaimed.

"What should we do now?!", Lincoln was even more nervous.

"Get away from her, let me check", Johnny ordered them. Lincoln and Luna took one step back.

Johnny first checked her nose, mouth, then her pulse and finally her wound. The bandage was drenched in blood and it was stinking horribly. Lola and Leni nearly threw up from the rotten smell.

Her pulse is gone, she is getting cold, Johnny said to himself. Luan must have died the instant she started to take a 'nap'. But how did she get so cold so fast, after only ten minutes?! Maybe this was because of the infection? Either way, Luan was gone, and it was up to Johnny to pronounce her dead.

He took a deep breath, looked at the ceiling and then closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry guys, but your sister...is dead. She died from the infection from her wound", there wasn't really a hint of compassion in Johnny's voice. If he threw his emotions in and what he really felt, he would have cried in front of them and probably wouldn't even be able to finish the sentence, making it even harder for them. He had to ignore his emotions, play the cold, distant man, at least for a while.

Each of the kids reacted differently. Lisa took her glasses off, and started to wipe feel her eyes that were getting wet. Lola fell to her knees and started to weep, her tears ruining her mascara. Lana bit down her lip as hard as she could and tried not to cry. Lucy just stared at Luan, with a grim expression. Whether she was crying or not, couldn't be deduced because her eyes were covered by her hair. Lynn tightened her fist and starting punching the wall lightly. Leni was just looking, confused as always, trying to understand what was going on. Lori put her hands on her face trying to muffle her sounds of crying.

Clyde was already in tears. He clumsily tried to sit down, while wiping the tears of his face after taking his glasses off. Lincoln was like a brother to him and his sisters were like sisters to him.

However, the two who where most shook, where Lincoln and Luna. Why? Lincoln was Luan's only brother, and the one of the few people who genuinely laughed at her jokes. Luna was the closest one in age to Luan and her roommate, logically she was the closest sibling to her.

Lincoln kneeled beside Luan and put his hand on her head. He gently started to play with her hair, while tears started to fall down his face. Luna desperately fell on her knees and hugged Luan's head.

Johnny noticed one strange thing. Luan was still smiling, even in death. Not even these monsters or death could keep her trademark smile from her face. Her smile felt like a slap on his face, a reminder that he failed to protect one little girl.

"But how, how could this happen?", Lincoln weeped.

"Her wound was treated, how? This can't be possible", Luna added, even more shaken.

Lynn turned towards Johnny with a furious expression and started to walk forward.

"You, you were the one that threated her wound. How could this happen? Explain yourself, now!", Lynn yelled at him, rising her fist and clenching it.

Johnny was startled a little. Even though he was nearly twice her size, she was much more aggressive and ferocious than a girl her age should be. Was he legit scared of a thirteen-year-old girl? No, he had to take the initiative back, he was the eldest here.

"Lynn calm down, everyone should calm down a bit. I talked to my friend, who's a doctor, and he pretty much confirmed what I had feared. There is no cure for this virus, kids. At least not for now, hopefully they'll make one in the future. But, after Luan was bitten, it was over for her. Even if we cut her foot off and the bite with it, it still wouldn't have saved her. The virus just spreads so crazily fast that there's literally nothing anyone can do. The best we can do for the victims, is to ensure that they spend their last time on this planet with their loved ones and that their death is as painless as possible. And Luan got that, she passed away peacefully in her sleep, while surrounded by people that she loves. She didn't deserve to suffer so we should be happy for her. Happy that we knew her, and that we have lived with her so far. Let's all keep a memory of her in ourselves forever, of a sweet, innocent girl, who was too happy for this cruel world."

Lynn lowered her hand and her head in shame. Only now did she start to cry, after finally realising that her older sister was gone.

"Pay your respects to her, your last farewell. And then, I'll do what must be done.", Johnny said, knowing that the hardest part was the last.

The siblings and Clyde suddenly snapped and looked at Johnny.

"What do you mean, what must be done?", Lynn asked.

"Everyone who dies, turns into an infected, a zombie. Judging by her cold body, she doesn't have much before it happens. The brain must be destroyed before that happens. I hope that you understand.", Johnny replied.

The Louds started exchanging looks between themselves but eventually silently agreed with him. He was the oldest here so he knew what to do. They had to trust him.

The siblings started to gather around Luan, barely sustaining their tears but they made a promise not to cry, that's not how they wanted Luan to remember them.

To say that Lincoln took this the hardest, was an understatement. His father had said that he was the man in the house now, he had to take care of his sisters. And how did it went? One of his older sisters died not even a day after they left to visit their cousins. Lincoln clenched his fists, while taking a good look at his sisters. This could be all of them, today, tomorrow. In a blink of an eye, one mistake, and they're gone. No, I'll protect them, I won't let any harm come to them, Lincoln was determined.

After they kissed Luan in the forehead, each of them shared some funny moment that they had with her, even Clyde.

"Goodbye Luan, we will miss you. Thanks for being our sister, we'll never forget you", Lincoln and Luna said, struggling not to fall on their knees and break down in front all of them. They just couldn't say these words. How these two gathered the courage to say it out loud, remains a mystery. Johnny and Clyde just looked on with sad expressions.

"Okay, this is it. I'm taking her behind the house to...bury her. Clyde, I'm gonna need a shovel."

"Of course sir, this way."

Johnny picked up Luan and left with Clyde the living room, entering the garage. Clyde grabbed a shovel and went with the police officer behind his house.

"Thanks for your help Clyde but I'll take it over from here. You should return to the rest of the kids and keep an eye of them. You're the calmest of them now, be sure they don't do anything stupid."

Clyde nodded and went back to the house.

Outside, the night was pretty bright. Growling could be heard in the distance but the zombies didn't seem to know that the group was stationed here. We still have until noon, Johnny thought while looking at the sky that was full of stars.

He gently put Luan down and started digging. After he had dug a hole that was big enough for her, he just stood there for a while. Earlier that day, he found this family and had sworn that he would protect them at all costs since their parents were gone temporarily. But now he was burying one of the kids, who may have died because of his neglect. Life is strange.

Johnny pulled the flower that was in her hair's clip and put it her right hand and clenched it into a fist. He grabbed his knife and stabbed Luan in the head. After he put her into the fresh grave, he grabbed the shovel and stood above the grave while his eyes were full of sadness and regret.

"I'm sorry Luan, I'm trully sorry. I couldn't protect you despite promising that I would. But here, on your resting place, I'm making another promise, one which I'll hold even if it costs me my life. I will ensure that your sisters and brother survive through this, at any cost, and I mean any. Now you can rest in peace, little girl. This scary world will never hurt you again. Farewell."

He started throwing dirt over her. One by one, every swing felt like someone had stabbed him in the heart with a sword. I'm here burying a child, a fourteen-year-old girl, while her siblings mourn her death twenty meters away from here, Johnny talked to himself. Hopefully this will be the last person I'll have to bury. Hopefully.

After some time, he was finally done. Johnny stuck the shovel where Luan's head was. There wasn't a grave marker so this had to satisfy him.

However, he suddenly heard some strange noises from the front yard, and turned around. Soon after, growling followed and Johnny's eyes went wide open. No, this couldn't be happening. A distant growling of the zombies could be heard, a herd was approaching, just like earlier. Johnny furrowed his brow while taking out his gun. Here we go again.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Johnny rushed to the front yard, and there was a sight to be seen: at least ten zombies were slowly marching towards him and in extension, the kids. Johnny sighed while aiming his gun at the infected.

"Trust me guys, I'm doing you a favor", Johnny smirked.

He pulled the trigger. And again. And again. After a few more shots, all to the head, only one remained.

As the police officer prepared himself to finish the job, he could hear the front door opening behind him. Johnny turned his head slightly and saw a red shadow slip past him. It was Lynn with her bat.

"What are you doing? It's too dangerous, get back inside", Johnny ordered her with a harsh tone. He felt sorry for being like this as she just lost her older sister but this was too dangerous for a thirteen-year-old girl.

"I'm sorry Johnny but I'm gonna have to disobey you on this. My sister is dead beacause of this fucking animals and I'll have my revenge. One by one, they'll be exterminated by my hand. My crusade starts", Lynn rasped, with her eyes being red from crying and also her hand were shaking while holding her bat.

Johnny looked at her in shock, with his mouth wide open. By now he had realised that Lynn was a tomboy and hot-headed, but this dark turn that she took, that didn't resemble a girl her age. So this is what losing someone close does to you?

He opened his mouth to say something but Lynn interrupted him:"Besides, you won't be around forever to take care of us. We have to learn to fight on our own, not depending on anyone. If I can't kill one of these freaks alone, do I even deserve to live in a shit-stained world like this?"

Johnny first looked at her than at the zombie that was coming closer to them and finally again at Lynn. Was this courage or stupidity? Or both? Probably both.

"Ok Lynn, you win. You can kill that one. But here's an advice: hit him in the knee, then when he falls, bash his head in. Don't stop until the brain is destroyed, watch for his mouth, don't let him bite you. You do that, you'll stay alive. Do you understand me kid?".

Lynn smirked and nodded. She was happy that Johnny saw her as more than just a girl, as someone who could be of use against these creatures.

The zombie growled and was now just a few meters away from them. Lynn tightened her grip on the baseball bat and started aiming his right knee. She ran towards him and swinged the bat with all her might at the zombie's knee, nearly shattering it in progress. The infected growled even more, while hopelessly waiving his hands towards Lynn and trying to get up. She chuckled.

"Now finish it", Johnny ordered her.

"With pleasure".

Lynn swinged her bat and hit him in the head. He was still moving. She swinged again and again. After a few more hits, the zombie's head now resembling a beaten pulp of meat. He wasn't going to eat anyone ever again.

"Shame, I wanted him to suffer more. Whatever", Lynn said, sounding very dissapointed.

This kid is something else, Johnny thought. But considering what had just happened, it was understandable. She was unleashing her anger on the thing that was the cause for Luan's death.

"Okay, that's enough. Let's go inside, come on", the police officer ordered her. Both of them entered the house and Johnny locked the front door.

"Give me your bat so I can wash the blood off of it. You go join your siblings and Clyde"

"Yes, sir"

Johnny entered Clyde's bathroom and turned on the hot water in the tub. He started to swipe all of the blood and the body parts that were stuck on it from Lynn's bashing of that zombie.

"Holy shit, guns are much less messier and easier to clean than melee weapons, you don't know the difference until you clean both of them", Johnny said to himself. He used a combination of hot water, shampoo and detergent to completely clean the bat.

"Now it looks like it's new, ready for some more skull bashing"

God, what was he saying. It was good for Lynn to know how to defend herself but it was a bad idea to hype her up to go and find the infected like some sort of comic superhero and get herself killed over some stupid thing. Johnny shook his head, dried the bat with a towel and went to the living room where the rest of the group was located.

The sight was...what he had expected. Despite the gunshots outside and Lynn's fight against the infected, they barely seemed to even react to it all. They were still in a state of trance except Lynn who seemed to snap out of it, for now. Johnny had to watch carefully about what he was about to say.

However, before he managed to say anything, he heard a buzzing noise. It seemed to came from his hip. His walkie-talkie was making strange noises, it sounded like someone was trying to speak to him.

"Jo-, do yo-, me, there...", the voice was most likely a man's voice but Johnny couldn't figure what he was saying since the connection was horrible.

"Johnny! For fuck's sake man, are you still alive?! Don't die on me now", finally the line was clear. It was Ryan.

"Ryan? I'm okay man, what happened? Is everything okay back at the Station?", Johnny's voice was full of relief, hearing his friend's voice made him just a little bit happier in this dreadful moments.

"Not really. We're fighting a huge horde of these fuckers. They haven't broken in yet thankfully, we are barricaded but I'm afraid we're gonna run out of ammo. The military and the SWAT are also losing, they're just getting swarmed step by step. The fact that there were a lot of tourists and a massive traffic jam at the beginning of this shit also doesn't help. But there are good news, that's why I called you. The army has established several 'Safe-Zones', the Police Station is codenamed Safe-Zone 1, the Hospital is Safe-Zone 2 and the Royal Woods High School is Safe-Zone 3. Since the High School is the nearest of these three zones to your current location, I suggest you better hurry there before the capacity gets full. That's it for now, I'll contact you later."

Johnny was glad to hear that they won't have to travel so far to the Station. While the distance between the High School and Clyde's house was a little farther than the distance betweent the Loud House and the McBride house, it was still much closer than the Police Station or the Hospital.

However, Johnny's short happiness was abruptly stopped when he saw the infected on the windows trying to get inside. The sounds of the zombies' scratches against the glass was getting louder and louder.

Shit, the gunshots must have attracted them, Johnny deduced. Maybe I should have used Lynn's bat and silently taken them all out? Now it was too late for that.

"Kids, we have to leave, now. They are gonna break in, we can't let them encircle us, come on", Johnny yelled at them, trying to snap them out of their mourning of Luan. No effect, they were still unresponsive.

But Lynn rushed to Johnny's side and grabbed his gun from his hand swiftly. However, the gun was heavier than she thought so she nearly lost balance and fell over, but managed to stay on her feet. She grabbed it with both hands and aimed at the ceiling. A bullet hit the ceiling as Lynn pulled the trigger, startling the rest of the group. Despite her impressive strength, the recoil from the gun caused her pain in her arms. Her siblings and Clyde looked at her, finally snapping back to reality.

"I'm sorry for doing this but we have to keep moving, it's not safe here. These things are going to attack us any moment and we have already lost Luan, we can't let the same happen to us. That's not what Luan would have wanted, right?", Lynn tried to persuade them to stop their mourning, at least temporarily. She also would have wanted to hide in a corner and cry because Luan was gone but the current situation didn't allow them. They had to ignore their pain now and get out of here alive for their sake and to ensure that Luan's death wasn't for nothing.

"Lynn-Lynn's right guys. Let's just get out of here, we'll mourn later, we can't lose anymore of our family", Lori said, trying to rally the emotionally shattered group behind the level-headed Johnny and Lynn.

The Louds along with Clyde slowly got up, wiping the tears from their eyes. Clyde and Lisa put on their glasses again. Luan was dead and a hole was carved in their hearts but they had to move on. The best way to remember Luan and to make sure that she didn't die in vain, was to keep fighting and stay alive.

The zombies finally broke in, shattering the windows with their sheer force. The broken glass that was falling from the windows started to echo through the house.

"Shit, here they come. They have swarmed the front yard, we can't go there. Everyone, through the garage!", Johnny ordered them.

The group followed Johnny, who left outside through the garage door. He glanced at Luan's grave, sighed but turned to the rest of the group.

"We are going to the High School. It should take us a few minutes if we run, do you think you can hold out that long? Lola?"

"I can do it, but just to be sure...", Lola ripped the lower ends of her dress, so now it was just over her ankles.

"Lola, you...I didn't expect this from you", Lana was shocked, along with the rest of her group.

Johnny smiled. "Well then, let's go."

The entire group started to run, in the northwest direction, towards the High School. They turned right at the street, then left and then again right.

"Why are we going to the High School? Isn't the Police Station the safest place in the city?", Lori was confused.

"My friend told me that the army has made several Safe-Zones, the High School is one of them and the nearest to our location.", Johnny replied, while playfully contending with Lynn for the fastest in the group.

"But didn't the military try to kill us?", Lincoln asked running just behind Johnny and Lynn with Clyde by his side.

"Well, let's pray to God that these are the good guys.", Johnny said, hoping that what he said was true, that the soldiers that he saw killing civilians and raid the Loud house were just rogue men acting on their own, and the ones in the High School were actually soldiers, fighting for who they should be fighting-for their own people.

Their little talk was interrupted by the growling of the nearby infected. Johnny turned around and could see that some of the kids starting to panic, notably Leni and Clyde.

"Don't look at them, just ignore them, we're really close now, please hold on a little more", Johnny said to the group, trying to inspire them for just a bit.

Just as the group was starting to lose hope, the roof of the High School was visible. It couldn't have been farther than a hundred meters, at most.

Yes, finally, these kids deserve a break after everything they've been through, Johnny thought. Everyone does.

The group finally managed to get to the High School, but only to the frontyard. There was barbed wire and a clumsily made wall of chairs, tables and boards, all from the school.

"Everyone, look, they are getting near, we have to get inside the school!", Lynn yelled, while pointing at the group of zombies that was getting closer to the group.

"Open up, is there anyone?! Hurry!", Johnny yelled from the top of his lungs to the direction of the school. He found it odd that there was nobody guarding the outside and even weirder that seemingly there was no way to enter since the barbed wire was encircling the whole school and the front yard.

Lynn grinded her teeth in anger and prepared her bat to fight the oncoming infected. She didn't forget her mission, to kill as many freaks as possible to avenge Luan. Johnny also took out his gun and changed the empty clip with a reserve one. Only one left in reserve, I have to make the bullets count, he thought to himself.

Fortunately for them, several soldiers emerged outside through the front door and started to shoot the infected that were approaching them. Johnny sighed in relief.

"You have to go through the right side, that's where we made a little entrance through this barbed wire, follow me before more of them come", a young soldier said to the group and then started running to the right side. The rest of the soldiers stayed at the front to patrol if any more zombies attack.

Johnny and the kids didn't wait too long, they immediately started to follow the soldier around the barbed wire, and when they arrived at the right side of the yard, the soldier removed a table and a small entrance was made large enough for a grown man to crawl through.

"Through here, one by one, on your knees and crawl", the soldier ordered them.

"You heard the man, from youngest to oldest, go", Johnny instructed them.

First Lisa crawled, then Lola, with Johnny being the last. The soldier returned the table to where it belonged.

"Are you okay? Is anyone bitten?", the soldier asked them.

"No, we're good. These kids just to need to rest, they've been through a lot", Johnny replied.

"Ain't we all. The school nurse is still going to check all of you for any potential injuries and bites just to be sure. Now, follow me.", the soldier waved his hand and started walking towards the front door.

"Now that we're safe, we can finally eat!", Lana cheerfully exclaimed.

"You can say that twice, I'm starving", Lynn added.

"Wait a second, where are our bags? And Lisa's orange bag for food preserving?", Lincoln asked confused.

"Shit, we must have forgotten them when we were running from Clyde's house. I'm sorry kids, but don't be sad, I'm sure that they have food and water here", Johnny replied.

"Whatever, the most important thing is that we're still alive", Lisa said.

"I wish Luan was alive and with us now. I miss her", Luna said, with a grim expression.

"We all do, Luna. But we made a promise, we won't give up for Luan, remember? We will live through this", Lori pronounced.

"Agreed", Lucy said.

"Well we're here, go to the janitor's room, that's where we have set a temporarily infirmary. Then we'll see what to do next", the soldier said to them while opening the front yard.

"Thanks to everything that you have done for me and these kids. I'm eternally grateful", Johnny said to the soldier but he had already entered the school and couldn't hear him.

The group entered the 'infirmary', that was actually the janitor's room. Inside was nurse Patti, sitting on a chair and writing on paper something that seemed to be related to the infection. Johnny noticed that most of the janitor's equipment had been removed, while a chair, table and a bed were brought in along with crucial medicine that the nurse was going to use.

"The Loud children? Oh my, I'm so happy that you kids are okay. Wait a second, where are you parents?", nurse Patti said, with a smile on her face, she was clearly happy to see the kids safe.

"Thanks. It's good to see you too. Mom, Dad and Lily have gone to visit our cousins but since this infection started, we hadn't heard from them at all. I have tried contacting them but to no avail.", Lori replied.

"Don't worry, Lori, I'm sure that they're gonna be fine, and you'll be safe here, between these walls. But, I noticed just now, where is Luan? Is she with another group?", Patti said, while taking a deeper look at the group.

Great fucking timing, Johnny rolled his eyes. They didn't need this now, their wounds were still fresh, asking questions like that, is only adding oil to the fire.

"Sadly, she didn't make it. We were, ur, escaping their house, and it got overrun, and... yes, that's where it happened, but please let's not talk about it now.", Johnny said, as he tried to hide the grief in his voice.

"I-I'm so sorry, I have witnessed many deaths since this morning, both kids and elderly, but you never get used to it. Oh well, better not to talk about that now. Now please, sit on the bed, from oldest to youngest, so that I can check on you just to make sure that you're all okay."

Johnny nodded and stepped forward. He sat on the table and Patti started to search around his body. She did so to every member of the group, finishing with Lisa, the youngest.

"Good news everyone, none of you is bitten, thankfully. Also, there are no other injuries on your bodies, you're just exhausted. A good round of sleep and you'll be as good as new.", nurse Patti said, with a big smile.

"'Just exhausted'?! Our sister just died, bitch. What the fuck, exhaustion is the least of our problems!", Lincoln yelled at the nurse, while slamming his fist on the table. His teeth were clenched, and Patti took a step back as Lincoln stared at her with a murderous intent.

"Linc, back off. It's not her fault, she's just trying to help", Lynn said to her younger brother while furrowing her brows. She wrapped her hands around Lincoln and started to slowly drag him from the room. The rest of the siblings and Clyde looked in horror at Lincoln. Was this boy really his best friend? Or did he change? Clyde's thoughts were a rollercoaster now.

"I, uh, I-I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten through him, seems like I'll need to talk to him about this as soon as possible", Johnny clumsily tried to issue both an apology and to reprimand Lincoln. This was too serious to just let it pass by.

"Don't worry, he's just a kid, it's understandable that his emotions are running wild now. I know Lincoln, he's a good boy, he didn't mean it, he just needs to rest like all of you. Come with me, I'll show you where you can sleep through the night."

Johnny carefully eyed the nurse. She didn't even flinch when Lincoln was lashing out at her, and didn't seem to bear any ill will towards him. All that had happened since this dreadful morning, must have made nurse Patti immune to outbursts like this. That was a remarkable skill to have in a situation like this.

Patti left the room with the group right behind her, Lincoln was at the end of the line with Lynn walking right beside him, just to keep watch in any case. Only now, was he slowly starting to realise how much of a fool he was there.

The group didn't walk much though. They found a classroom near the new infirmary, that was empty, with some blankets, pillows and mattresses.

"You can sleep here. If you hear gunshots or any loud sounds outside, don't worry, it's just the soldiers clearing out the infected. But if something odd were to happen, you'll be alerted. Good night, I'll see you tomorrow again", Patti said, as she started to leave.

"Uh, I'm sorry but...", Lynn awkardly said to the nurse.

"What's the matter Lynn?", the nurse replied with a smile.

"Well, in short, we're hungry. We were carrying food with us but in a hurry, we forgot it. So if you have any...", Lynn said while using her puppy eyes that she used to persuade Lincoln to let him sleep in his room. He could never forget that night, when Lynn and Lucy were quarreling, Lynn didn't want to sleep in their room with Lucy so she settled with Lincoln in his. Good old days.

"Why, of course. I'll tell a soldier to bring you all something before sleeping. See you", the nurse giggled while leaving and closing the door.

Soon after, the same soldier that let them in, brought them two big breads, several apples and bananas, a five liter gallon of water, several packages of pate and some sweets for the youngest.

"Here, enjoy, just stay quiet, the rest of the civilians here are sleeping", the soldier said with a commanding voice.

Just as he started to leave, Johnny put a hand on his shoulder. The soldier turned around, visibly confused.

"Thank you, my friend. What's your name? I'm Johnny."

"Private Jeff, now rest. You're gonna need it."

Jeff closed the door as he left. Johnny went back to the group. Each one of them sat on a chair, and started to eat the food that the soldier brought in. After several minutes, they finished eating.

"Good, now that we're finished, let's get to sleep. We need it.", Johnny said. The kids nodded.

There were only five matresses and there were eleven of them. They had to share with one another.

Lisa, Lola and Lana shared one. Lucy and Lincoln shared the second. Lynn and Luna the third. Leni and Lori the fourth. And finally, Johnny and Clyde shared the fifth.

"It's a little tight, but better than being outside surrounded by the infected", Johnny chuckled.

"Amen to that", Lynn added.

They covered themselves with the blankets and dived deep into sleep. Or at least tried to.

Lincoln was just staring at the ceiling with his eyes wide open, still thinking about the idiotic thing he did recently with Nurse Patti. She was there, trying to help them and he acted so immature, so brash, it was shameful. The eleven-year-old boy clenched his fists and grinded his teeth, but soon calmed down because he didn't want to disturb his younger sister who was sleeping beside him. But since Lucy was deadly silent and sleeped like a vampire in a coffin with her arms crossed, Lincoln started to get a little unnerved but soon after the exhaustion overpowered the deep discussion he was having with himself and he found himself floating in his dreams before he even realized it. Ocassional gunshots could still be heard but the Louds, Clyde and Johnny were now deep into sleep, getting their well-deserved rest.

Lincoln felt like something was poking his eyes. Was it Lynn or Lana playing a prank on him? Or was it...Luan...shit. This was the first time he has woken with one less sister. He had to get used to it, eventually. But, it was neither of those two, it was the rays of sunlight, from the morning sun. Everyone else was already up, except him.

"Good morning, Lincoln. How did you sleep?", Johnny asked him while inspecting his gun.

"Oh, hey, good morning. It was good, as good as it gets now. How did the rest of you sleep?"

"We're all good Lame-o, it's so cute of you to be so polite", Lynn teased him while playfully punching him in the arm. Lincoln just smiled at her.

"Well then, let's go and see who else is here in the school. Maybe we'll meet some familiar faces", Johnny said to the group while opening up the door. They exchanged looks and started to follow him. Except Lincoln, he stayed behind to eat.

In the great hall, there already was a big group of people, both older and younger. Emotions were mixed, some of the people were laughing, some were deep in some serious discussion while some were less happy, with tears flowing down and occasional weeps could be heard.

"Okay kids, listen. Don't leave the school, it's not safe outside though I don't think that the soldiers would even let anyone outside. Anyway, go take a walk around and see if you can find your friends. I'm also gonna check around to see if anyone's familiar. That classroom where we slept will be our 'base' so to say, that's where we will meet when we are finished. Understood?", Johnny said to the group. They nodded and started to go in different directions.

Lisa, Lola and Lana started walking around together.

"Ugh, I need a bath or at least a shower. I stink so badly!", Lola was dissapointed.

"Are you for real? This is like heaven, being all sweaty and smelly, and I don't even have to clean up!", in contrast, Lana was clearly happy with the lack of hygiene.

Are they all bluffing or what? Nobody seems to be sad for Luan. Or are they still in a state of self-denial? That must be it but this has exceeded my expectations for them. Lisa was having her analysises and experiments in her head, with herself, since none of her equipment was available to her now. Not even her notebook or pen. I guess I'd have to satisfy myself with hearing gossip from other people along my older sister units, named Lana and Lola. Maybe some useful informations may pop-up.

Lucy was just standing at the same spot the group members had split. What was she supposed to do? She wasn't really the type to hop around and greet everyone she meets with a wide smile...like Luan's smile. No, not now. I won't feel sad now, we all promised. Lucy firmly decided that she won't feel sad for Luan as that's not what she would have wanted.

As Lucy sighed, and turned her head towards the left side of the hall, she saw a familiar set of teeth and ginger hair. Wait, no way, was it...Rocky? Her crush? She removed some strands of her hair to confirm her suspicions. Yeah, that definitely was Rocky. Lucy felt a little...odd, but nevertheless, she started to walk towards him, especially since he was standing alone.

"Hey, Rocky", Lucy started to talk, startling the boy a little as he was leaned against the wall.

"Oh, Lucy, it's you! I'm so glad that you're okay!", Rocky hugged her awkwardly, while her pitch black hair run through his freckled face.

Lucy could feel her blushing, her face was now as red as a tomato. And in front of all these people. But, Lucy didn't care now. All that mattered now, was that her love interest was well and safe.

"Likewise, I'm, uh, happy to see you", Lucy faked a smile.

"Are the rest of your siblings here? Lincoln? Is he okay?", Rocky asked.

"Yeah, they're all fine, don't worry. How did you get here?", Lucy replied.

"I was reading some Lovecraftian books until I heard screaming and shouting outside. Then, I saw people eating other people and soldiers shooting them down. I like creepy stuff like you, but seeing it in real life, that's something completely different. Anyway, Rusty and me, along with our parents, hid in the basement when the infected started to flood our house. A few hours later, the military arrived, clearing the infected inside our house and bringing us here. Since then, we've been here with the others that the soldiers managed to save, and the ones who arrived here on their own."

Lucy listened to him closely, while shaking her head.

"Lucy, there's something I wanted to ask you, but with this situation, it might be a little too weird...", Rocky's face was starting to get red.

"And what is that?"

"Uh, I, you, uh, well. You promised that you would show me your eyes, so, I don't know, maybe now?", Rocky's eyes were fixed on the floor, he was too shy to look at Lucy now.

"Oh, that. I'm sorry but you're gonna have to wait just a little bit more", Lucy giggled while lightly poking Rocky in the forehead. He smiled despite not getting what he asked for.

Clyde was looking around the hall, walking left and right, trying to find someone familiar. He saw Lynn at the right side of the hall, with someone else. It was Francisco, her boyfriend. That young man was the last person Clyde wanted to see in this moment. And, who was to blame him? He was in a relationship with the girl he had a crush on. He had grown past his childish crush on Lori, that was more of an obsession, one which nobody seemed to like, especially not Lincoln. Lori was much older than him, already had a boyfriend with whom she was crazily in love and there was literally zero chance Clyde had except for imagining. But Lynn was just two years older than him, nearly his age, he got along with her well even though she was rough at times. Just like Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were polar opposites to each other, so were Clyde and Lynn. This gave him just a small ray of hope that she would eventually notice him, in a way more than a friend. But when would that happen? Francisco was everything Clyde wasn't, even Lincoln didn't like that guy too much since he knew that they were just nerdy gamers to him, an athletic young man, a sportsperson, like a male counterpart to Lynn, it seemed like they were a match made in heaven. I'm too weak for her, too wimpy, I'm just a loser, Clyde sighed. Who would ever have a crush on him?

Except there was a girl who had a crush on Clyde, unbeknownst to him and even that girl, until recently. She was sitting on a chair on the other side of the hall, opposite to him. Her right eye was covered with dark hair and her skin was as pale as Lucy's. It was Haiku. She was nervously playing with her fingers, while watching at Clyde from afar. Her thoughts were having a war inside her head. Should she approach him now? Everyone needed someone to talk to in these types of situations, to ensure that they were not alone. Maybe Clyde needed comfort right now and she was there to give it. At first, she thought that this was just good friendship, when she was supposed to be Lincoln's date. But after that, day by day, she started to realize that these feelings were something bigger than just friendship. Maybe not all-out love, but higher than a friend. Something in-between.

Haiku stood up, but sat down again. I just don't have the courage now, sorry Clyde, she was dissapointed with her lack of confidence. Maybe sometime in the future, Haiku was not going to give up, there was time for everything, even love.

"I'm so glad that you're okay, Lynn. I tried to call you, but the line was dead. I even tried to get to your house but my dad stopped me, saying it was too dangerous. I don't what I'd do if something happened to you", Francisco was whispering in Lynn's ears as he played with her hair. He was the only person on this planet who was allowed to touch her hair. A very prestigious achievement indeed.

"Oh, stop, I'm gonna melt", Lynn giggled, while sitting on his lap. The fingers of their right hands were intertwined with one another, Lynn seemed to almost forget about her crusade against the zombies. Almost.

Luna was sitting in the corner of the hall, close to the front door. Luan's death was still fresh on her, and no matter how hard she tried to get it out of her head, she just couldn't. Her little sister was gone, and she could do nothing. How will their parents react to that? Shit, I need a smoke now, Luna started to check her pockets but there weren't any. She couldn't risk carrying it around while her siblings could notice. It was hard enough to wash and floss her teeth constantly, and chew gum just to hide her breath from everyone. But would they even care at this point? The world is falling apart, people are eating and killing other people. For a hippie like Luna, maybe this was an opportunity.

As she was stuck in her imaginations, the fifteen-year-old girl noticed a familiar patch of teal hair. Upon taking a closer look, Luna realized it was her former crush, Sam. Sadly for her, former. When she confessed to Sam that she liked her more than a friend, the blonde haired girl was flattered but unfortunately for Luan, she just didn't swing that way. They stayed friends since then but it'll never be the same and they both knew it. Should she go to Sam now or not? Luna needed some comfort after what happened to Luan and Sam was a kind girl, she would understand her. Luna started to walk towards Sam.

"Yo, bro, what's up?", Luan said while approaching her.

"Luna? You're here too? I'm so happy, I was really worried that something had happened to you", Sam replied as she jumped to hug Luna.

Luna was caught off-guard but nonetheless, still overjoyed that she showed this kind of compassion. I shouldn't tell her about what happened to Luan, it would just make her sad, especially not after seeing her this happy to see me, Luna decided. She moved her hands through Sam's hair, while smelling her scent. When they broke contact, Luna kept looking at her.

"Luna, what's wrong?", asked Sam, visibly confused.

Fuck it all, I'm going in, Luna smiled. She leaned closer and put her lips on Sam's. Her eyes went wide open, as Luna was passionately kissing her. Should she stop it or? Was everyone watching them, two girls making out, in front of everyone? Did anyone even care at this point, when the apocalypse is starting?

After a few seconds, Luna stopped and backed away. Only then did she realize what had just happened.

"Sam, I'm sorry, I don't know what came through me."

"Come with me", Sam grabbed Luna's hand and went towards the classrooms to find an empty one...

Leni walked around in circles, while curiously looking at the people in the hall.

"Hmm this looks very similar to my school, the High School", Leni said while scratching her chin.

"Oh I get it! This is my school!", Leni cheerfully proclaimed.

"I wonder when Luan will wake up from her sleep, I miss hearing her jokes", she sighed.

Lori and Bobby were wrapped in a hug for several minutes in an empty classroom and nobody seemed to let go. They hadn't heard of each other for one whole day, the longest time since they were in a relationship, made even worse in this specific situation, where every minute was like an hour long.

"Oh, Boo-Boo Bear I missed you so much, I don't know how I managed to stay alive through the past day without seeing or hearing from you. I love you", Lori said to her boyfriend, while resting her head on his shoulder.

"Please don't think about that, all that matters now, is that we're together again, and nothing will separate us, I promise you that", Bobby replied.

"But Luan is gone Bobby, my younger sister is dead. And I could do nothing to prevent that. I'm a failure of a sister. How will I ever look Mom and Dad in the eyes again? Or my younger siblings? I'm useless", Lori barely managed to say it, as tears started to flow down her cheeks. She managed to stay calm in front of Johnny and the kids, but she couldn't stay calm around Bobby.

Bobby looked at her with a warm smile, while wiping the tears off her face.

"Don't blame yourself, honey. It was meant to happen, nobody could have stopped it, not even you. But you have to stay strong for your remaining sisters and your one brother, they need you now more than ever. You are a great human being and a great sister, I know that you will be able to protect and take care of them, because that's who you are, Lori", Bobby giggled.

Lori looked at him, and tightly hugged him again.

Johnny was walking around the school trying to find the soldier that lead them in. He decided to ask the two soldiers that were guarding the front door.

"Sorry, I just have a question? Where is Private Jeff? I need to talk to him", Johnny asked the middle-aged soldier on the right side of the front door.

"I think he's outside now but you can't go there, it's not safe", the soldier replied.

"With all due respect, I'm a police officer, I know how to take care of myself, now please, can I go outside?", Johnny demanded.

"Fair enough, chief. You may go", the soldier opened the door and moved aside.

Johnny stepped outside, briefly blinded by the sun, he put his hands over his eyes to cover himself from the sunlight.

"Seems like today is gonna be a sunny day", Johnny said, to no one in particular.

"Yeah, it seems so", a voice said, coming from his right side. It was Jeff.

"Oh, good morning, I was looking for you", Johnny said as he turned to his direction.

"Good morning, how'd ya sleep?", Jeff asked him as he walked towards him.

"It was good. Considering the current situation, I can't complain"

"You said you searched for me. What's the matter?"

"Nothing special really, just wanted to thank you again for letting us in."

"Don't sweat it, any sane man would have done that"

I doubt MacMiller would have done it, Johnny thought.

"Sorry if I appear cold to you or your group, but not getting attached to anyone is useful when shit like this happens. I learned it the hard way."

"Yeah, I can't blame you, that's a reasonable thing to do."

"Are those all your kids, cousins or..."

"Actually their parents were out of town when all this started, and I got to their house just in time to save them from an infected man, and since then, these kids have been through a lot already. I just want them to be safe, that's all."

"Noble of you, mate. Many people forget about anyone else in these types of situations, only thinking about themselves. Only the bravest take care of other people to."

The first one who came to Johnny's mind, was his friend Ryan. He was the type to leave a man to die if he couldn't help him. Man's gotta survive even if it's at the cost of the other man's life. That was his motto. Hopefully he won't actually implement it now.

Lincoln finished eating the remains from the breakfast that the rest of the group had left for him. He cleaned himself up with some water and left outside of the room. The loud sounds from the hall signaled him that most of the people who took refugee here are gathered there. Two soldiers were guarding the front door, they didn't allow anyone outside except if you're a law enforcement officer.

Lincoln heard Nurse Patti's voice from her 'infirmary', she was working with some patients. Should he go in and apologise again for what he did yesterday? That was so childish and stupid, Lincoln cringed and shivered from the sheer thought of it. Maybe not, it was wise to let some time pass, now it would be just awkward.

As he went to the middle of the hall, he felt a strong punch to the arm.

"Ouch Lynn, that hurted you kn-", but as Lincoln turned around, it wasn't his energetic older sister.

"Hey Lame-o, so you're still alive", a girl with freckles and buck teeth said to him, while giggling.

"Ro-Ronnie Anne?! What are you doing here?!", Lincoln asked with his eyes wide open.

"I happened to be here with Bobby, but you don't seem to be particularly happy to see me."

Lincoln stared at her for a few seconds, then started to walk towards her.

"What are you...?"

He wrapped his hands around Ronnie Anne as tightly as he could, making her lose her breath briefly.

"Lincoln stop, that hurts"

He loosened his grip a little, but his hands still remained wrapped around her.

"I'm so happy to see you, to see you alive and healthy. I need someone now.", Lincoln whispered to her.

One of the things that Ronnie Anne hated the most, was kissing and hugging in public, where everyone can see her. But now, she didn't care , all that matters now is that Lincoln is with her. She returned the hug with full intensity.

"How's the rest your family? Are they okay", Lincoln asked her after breaking the hug.

"Last time I heard from them, they were okay, grandpa and grandma were sick, but mom said that they are gonna be okay", Ronnie Anne replied.

When she mentioned her grandpa, Lincoln was startled. He completely forgot about his own grandfather.

"I wonder if Pop-Pop is okay..."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

The Sunset Canyon Retirement Home was encircled by the infected. The majority of the interior was swarmed by zombies and most of the elders unfortunate enough to get caught were transformed into the enormous army of the undead. The select few who managed to survive locked themselves in rooms, desperately waiting for someone to save them.

Albert hid in the basement with Sue. There was a lot of tools that the janitor was using so Albert grabbed an axe to have, just in case.

"You really think that we're going to get through this alive?", Sue asked him, visibly scared.

"I have survived far worse stuff, this is nothing. Just stick with me and we'll be fine."

The growling outside was getting louder and louder. Albert was looking around but there was no way outside except for the door that led them in, and a bunch of flesh-eating monsters were knocking on them. It was just a matter of time before they break in despite Albert barricading the door.

However, several Humvees arrived in front of the nursing home, drawing the attention from the zombies toward them, the infected turned around and started to march towards the Humvees.

Around twenty soldiers left the Humvees, and loaded their guns.

"Ladies, you're free to open fire", a middle-aged man with scars on his face rasped.

"Yes, sir. Everyone, fire at will. Aim for the head", said the man who was by his side, he looked younger.

Gunfire soon started to echo in the area, the zombies started to fall down, one by one, with their brains blown out.

"What is that noise outside? Are those gunshots?", Sue asked.

"Yeah, seems so.", Albert replied as he was pushing against the door to keep infected from entering the basement.

"They must be the police or the army, we're safe", Sue was excited.

"Sir, seems like the infected have been cleared out.", a soldier informed the scarred man.

"We are going in now to see if there are survivors and to clean anything remaining of the undead scum. Follow me", the scarred man ordered his men. They nodded and immediately started to follow him.

The reception room was swarmed with the corpses of the infected that were killed just now and the stench was horrible, judging from the reactions of the younger soldiers.

"Man, this is fucked"

"Shut up"

"Make sure to check every body, if you see even the slighest movement, shoot it in the head.", the scarred man growled.

The soldiers looked around, kicking the bodies to see if they're still alive but they didn't move. The scarred man entered the room with the pool and there were some zombies trying to get out of the water but unsuccessfully.

"So you fuckers can't drown eh? Well here we go with the old fashioned way", the scarred chuckled as he shot the infected in the head that were in the pool.

"The reception room is clear sir"

"So is the pool room. Move further through the building, go"

"Yes sir"

The door to the basement was nearly completely broken. Albert barricaded it with chairs and a table but the sheer force of the undead swarm was too much. He could see the wood slowly starting to crack.

"Shit...too much...", even though he was seventy, Albert was still dreadfully strong, which his grandson Lincoln managed to see firsthand. But even he couldn't hold out against this much of a force.

However, suddenly the growling was getting quieter and quieter, until it stopped. The zombies were seemingly gone. Albert sat down out of exhaustion.

"More gunshots...that must have attracted them...", said Albert while panting.

"Sue, looks like we are saved", he smiled

"Sue?"

Sue started to walk towards him, but she looked...different. She was limping, waving her hands around and her face looked unnatural. It was greenish in color, with bloody veins protruding on her face and arms, and a black ooze coming from her mouth. A sudden growl from Sue startled Albert, and he immediately got on his feet, tightly holding the axe.

"Sue, you, you transformed into one of them...but how, you weren't bitten...", Albert quietly said. He knew what needed to be done.

As she limped to him, Albert walked towards her.

"Sorry Sue", said Albert as he swinged the axe, decapitating her instantly. But to his horror, she wasn't quite dead: her head was still growling on the ground, despite it being separated from the body.

"What in the hell...", Albert was said with a grim expression. Cutting her head wasn't enough?

He swinged his axe again, this time downwards, hitting Sue's zombie head, cutting it in two pieces. The head finally stopped growling and it looked like it was completely dead.

"Looks like the only way to kill these creatures is by destroying the head. Shit.", the old man sighed.

He checked Sue's body to look for a bite but there was nothing, no injury whatsoever. Except for what looked like a...scratch? Albert stretched the wound a little, and a green-black substance started to leak with a horrible stench.

"Oh God, even a scratch can cause the infection. This is bad.", he said while covering his nose.

But oddly enough, Albert didn't feel anything. He had just killed a woman, who was his nurse, while she was rough at times, she was still dear to him. To be fair, she was transformed into something that wasn't human and would have killed Albert if he didn't act, but still, it seemed like he lacked compassion. Or maybe he was used to killing since this wasn't the first life he took. Some few decades ago, he was taking lives on the other side of the Earth.

Albert was born in 1948. When the Vietnam War started, he was just seven years old yet he always dreamed of what it was like being in a war. From seeing movies, reading books and hearing tales from his father who fought in the Second World War, and his grandfather who fought in the First World War, little Albert also wanted to be in a war, so that he could tell his heroic tales to his children and grandchildren, to do his duty for his country.

And as a New Year's gift for 1968., Albert finally got his wish. He was drafted to 'Nam for a one year service, until the First of January 1969. The first few weeks were... exciting to say at least. Physically exhausting, yes, but the twenty-year-old Albert worked with his father many jobs so he was prepared for this. He was mainly digging trenches or carrying around crates of supplies, but he didn't fight on the front line, which frustrated him. But his chance finally came, when at the end of January, the infamous Tet Offensive started. Every man who could wield a weapon was mobilised, even Albert. To say that he was overjoyed, would be an understatement. He reloaded and checked his M16 rifle a dozen of times, to be sure that it would be ready for the "gooks", as they called the North Vietnamese.

But when the fighting started, everything changed. Bullets were flying around like a swarm of bees when they get aggressive. And just one was enough to end a life forever. Albert saw his friends, brothers-in-arms die, lose their limbs, their sanity around him, all in a matter of minutes. Even Albert himself was shot in the shoulder, luckily for him, it wasn't fatal. After that day, he would pray just to stay alive until next year, so he could see his parents one more time at least. What are they doing now, are they worried, do they miss me...

However, gunshots woke Albert up from his brief dream. It came from the upper floor. Screamings of the elder people could be heard for a while until again, it became quiet.

"Here they come again, chief. Look like this group was in the basement.", a soldier said to the scarred man.

"Same shit, you know the drill boys. Keep it clean, in the head", the scarred man laughed.

The soldiers opened fire again, eliminating the zombies one by one that just now, were besieging Albert and Sue in the basement.

"Top floor is clear sir, there were some old men and women remaining, so we, uh, took care of them just like you asked us"

"Ordered, you mean, I didn't ask you shit. You do what I tell you, you little brat", the scarred man rasped at the soldiers who came from upstairs. They hid their anger as pissing off their commander wasn't a smart thing to do.

"Now, the only thing that remains is the basement, from which these idiots came from. You two, go check the basement. The rest of you, on me", the scarred man pointed at the two youngest soldiers, one was blonde, while the other was of darker hair. They saluted and slowly started to walk towards the basement, while the scarred man along with the remaining men went to the Humvees.

"Okay, you wait beside the door, while I'll go in to see if there's something in there. Watch my back, all right?", the blonde soldier said to the darker one. He nodded.

The blonde soldier slowly started to descend the stairs down when he saw a headless body at the middle of the basement room. Its head, that was split in half, was lying several meters away from the body, near the table with the tools.

"Oh my Go-", the blonde soldier stopped mid-sentence as his head fell of his neck and started to roll on the floor. An axe that was swinged with immense force struck him in the neck and decapitated him.

"So, you fuckers kill anyone who is old and weak, and who can't take care of himself in a situation like this, eh? Well, guess who's gonna prove you wrong", Albert smirked as he grabbed the soldier's rifle. The old man was hiding in the shadow between the stairs and the wall, and as the soldier was only looking forward, there was no way that he could have seen him.

The soldier with darker hair heard strange noises from the basement. The young man tightened his grip on the rifle that he was holding, and started to walk slowly towards the basement door.

But, the last thing the soldier saw as looked in the basement was that of an old man with white hair running towards him wielding an axe. As the soldier aimed his rifle, Albert swinged the axe forward, hitting the soldier in the head, nearly splitting it in half. The soldier's lifeless body fell to the ground along with his rifle.

"I haven't felt this young and lively ever since Lincoln visited me", Albert said while covered in blood. He started to inspect the rifles of the soldiers. They were much more modernised versions than the one Albert used in Vietnam.

"Where are those two fools? Don't tell me that they can't handle a single room", the scarred man said with an irritated voice.

"Should we go look for them, sir? They may be hurt or worse...", one of the soldiers suggested to the scarred man.

"All of you stay here and hold this position. Form a circle around the Humvees, I'll go look for them", the scarred man rasped as he entered the nursing home again.

If an old geezer is responsible for this... the scarred man didn't know whether to laugh or be angry. Out of thousands and thousands American soldiers, he always gets the most incompetent ones.

He hid behind the wall that was several meters away from the basement door. On the other side, Albert was hiding behind the basement door, with a rifle in his hand. Who would get the first shot? The game was now cat and mouse.

"Roback, Polansky, you okay back there?", the scarred man yelled.

"They are dead, and you'll be too if you don't leave now, you hear me?!", Albert yelled back.

"You must be one tough old man, eh grandpa?", the scarred soldier mocked him.

"Don't mess with me son, these two learned it the hard way."

"Wait a second, old man. I recognize your voice."

"What? How?"

"Yeah, now I remember, my father fought with you in the war, you were really good friends, can you remember him? His name was James, later lost his leg to a landmine", the scarred man said.

"James? Hmm let me think about that name...", Albert was confused.

"But the most important thing is about your family, old man. I managed to get them to a safe place, if you could just put down your weapon, I'll forget about this little incident and take you to them. You want them to be safe and happy, right?"

"More than anything, yes...okay, I'll come out", Albert said, dropping his weapon and stepping outside the basement, in the hall.

"Wait a second, how did he-", as Albert finally realised and looked at the scarred soldier, he felt an immense pain in his stomach. Gunfire soon started to echo through the entire building as the scarred man had shot the poor old man in the stomach several times.

"Damn it...", Albert whispered as he fell to the ground. Blood started to flow from his wounds, as he slowly started to lose consciousness.

"Why would you trick me by mentioning my family, how low can you go you son of a bitch..."

"Your era is over, old geezer. I do whatever is necessary to defend this country, and nobody questions my methods, unless they want to die", the scarred man chuckled.

"I'm sorry kids...but this is it for Pop-Pop...if only I could have seen you one more time, to make sure that you're safe...", those were Albert's last words as the scarred man finished him off with a shot in the head. He than took a look at the two soldiers killed by Albert.

"Fucking amateur scum", the scarred man spat on the ground.

Soon after, the scarred man left the building, and found the remaining soldiers at the same place where he had left them.

"Come on boys, we're going back to base", he ordered them while heading towards the first Humvee in the row.

"What about...?"

"They are dead, and we'll be too if we don't move from this place. Now get in the damn vehicles before I get mad". The soldier nodded.

The scarred man entered the first Humvee and started to drive. The rest soon followed him. The scarred man was seen smirking, and on the right side of his uniform a name could be seen.

'Sgt. Macmiller' was written on it.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

It was high noon in Royal Woods. The people who found refugee in the High School were still not allowed outside for safety reasons, except for the soldiers and Johnny, because he was an armed police officer. Gunshots could be heard from the outside as the soldiers were shooting the infected that were walking towards the improvised fence that was made around the school.

Johnny was talking on his walkie-talkie upstairs, away from other people, so he could talk without being interrupted.

"So, the deal was until noon, but since we are here, I think this can be a safe place, for now.", Johnny said.

"Maybe so, but I heard that the place is getting overcrowded, and the strong is going to throw out the weak, Johnny boy. You know that better than me", Ryan replied from the police station.

"Are you implying that I am weak?"

"Not you mate, but having a bunch of kids with you, in a shitty situation like this, it's not something to envy."

"Don't worry about me, we will get through this, all of us."

"Well, anyway, I heard that the Elementary School has fallen, the infected got in and started to eat everyone. Granted, they had the weakest defenses, their fence was heavily damaged, and only a few soldiers were guarding them."

"Damn, that's horrible. All those people, just one bite and it's all over for them. What else do you got?"

"Hmm let's see. Apparently there were requests to use air force to bomb the shit out of everything to slow down the spread of the infection. It was denied because uninfected civilians would be hurt and bla bla bla, some moral crap. Also, a van that was carrying some of the worst criminal scum that were on death row crashed when this shit started. And guess in which location?"

"Near Royal Woods...", Johnny sighed. Like the walking undead wasn't a problem enough, now they have to deal with psychopaths too.

"I don't know if I tol-", Ryan tried to say something but was cut off. The connection was lost and it seemed like the walkie-talkie stopped working.

"The battery is dead. Shit." Johnny angrily put the device back to its place while going downstairs to the hall.

"Are we done yet? I'm running a little low on ammo", a soldier outside said.

"I don't know man, seems like another wave is coming. I don't know how much the fence is gonna hold or how much we can hold them off. We need reinforcements, there's just too many of them, and too few of us", another soldier replied.

"The back side of the yard, they are breaking in! Get over here, now!", a soldier yelled from the back yard.

When several soldiers ran to the back of the school, the look on their faces was of horror and shock. The majority of the tables and chairs that were clumsily set close to one another either in pieces or heavily damaged. Many of the zombies were stuck on the barbed wire but the massive force behind the huge horde helped the infected to just step over their fellow zombies and into the back yard.

"What the fuck, this was supposed to hold! Who made this mess of a fence in the first place?!", an older soldier yelled.

"It doesn't matter now sir, just fire at them. We can't allow them in, it will be a massacre if they attack the civilians", a younger soldier tried to calm him down. The soldiers collectively started to kill the infected, but it seemed like for every zombie they kill, two more enter the yard.

"This won't work, we have to evacuate everyone out of here. This safe-zone is lost", the older soldier said.

"But how? We don't have any vehicles to transport this much people, especially the younger ones."

"Call the base or see if any units are available. Try to get us some trucks or APCs."

"Yes, Captain"

More and more people started to hear some ruckus from the outside and soon realised that something was off. Private Jeff was standing at the front door along with two more soldiers.

"Please, everyone calm down and go back to your class room where you spent the night. Don't be scared", Jeff said.

"Stay calm?! What the fuck?! Those monsters are breaking in and it's only a matter of time before they get in here and start to eat all of us. Either give us weapons to defend ourselves or let us out so we can escape", an older man angrily said to the three soldiers.

"We are expecting reinforcements, so everything will be fine. You are only making this worse by needlessly panicking", the soldier that was on Jeff's right side said.

"Needless?! This is ridiculous! I'm getting out of here", said the old man as he went to the front door, but as soon as he got close, Jeff punched him in the head, knocking him out.

"Anyone else wants to step outside? I'll escort them personally", Jeff sarcastically exclaimed.

The civilians slowly started to back off, staying inside was a safer option, at least for now.

"I'm going outside, you two look after them, they can stay in the hall, but don't let anyone outside, is that understood?", Jeff ordered the two soldiers while he went outside.

"But...", the soldiers didn't manage to finish what he was about to say as Jeff had already left.

Johnny's group was standing right at the center of the hall.

"Lynn, would you give me your bat for a while?", Johnny asked her.

"Why?", she replied.

"Just in case something happens."

"Can I keep it please? You saw how much proficient I was with it. Besides, you already have a gun", Lynn was using her puppy eyes, again.

"All right, but don't anything stupid or reckless, okay?"

"You got it chief", Lynn said while lightly punching him in the arm.

This girl has a heavy hand, Johnny smirked.

"All lines are dead sir. I can't get to anyone", the younger soldier yelled to the Captain.

"Fucking great. What are we going to do now with a bunch of civilians and with no means to transport them?!"

"The buses sir", Jeff said while running towards them.

"What?", the Captain replied.

"I saw three school buses near to our location when I first arrived here. You know, the yellow ones that transports students."

"Where exactly?"

"In a parking lot around hundred yards west of here. Let me take two men with me and we can bring them here in less than a minute. Just try to survive until then, sir", Jeff said.

"All right, Private. Greffen, Wolcroft, go with him and follow his orders. The rest of you, keep shooting, we have to hold long enough for them to arrive with the buses and then we're getting the hell out of here", the Captain ordered them. They nodded and the trio started running towards the parking lot.

But, to the soldiers' horror, the right side of the fence was also breached and the infected started to pour in. With three of them gone to get the buses, there were only seven soldiers left outside, with the remaining two inside taking care of the civilians.

"Fuck. Three of you, to the right side. The rest of you stay with me and hold the back side", the Captain yelled.

"I'm out of ammo!", one soldier added.

"Use your goddamn pistol then", the Captain replied.

"My pistol is out", another soldier added.

"Then use your arms or a knife. Beat them with your weapons if you have to as long as they're dead", the Captain yelled.

"Just don't lose your footing, we can't let them encircle us", a soldier said.

Ironically, the left side of the fence was also getting breached, with the zombies slowly dragging themselves in. The front side was the only one still untouched, for now.

The people in the school were now totally freaking out, most of them were screaming and crying because of the infected that were getting near. Their growling was also getting louder, further complicating the situation.

"We have to get out of here, now. Everyone follow me.", a man yelled as he ran towards the door.

"Sir, you can't. We have to stay inside", however, unlike before, the majority of the civilians started to run towards the front door. The two soldiers just stepped aside as they didn't want to get caught in the stampede.

"Yes, now everyo-", the old man who got knocked out by Jeff said but tripped over a zombie that came from the left side of the yard. The rest of the zombies started to eat him. His screams of agony froze the rest of the group of people who ran outside and made them oblivious to the infected that were outside. Soon after, they got attacked by the rest of the horde.

"Captain Dunphy, the left side is gone!"

"For fuck's sake, not now. Everyone retreat to the school. We'll make our stand there. Come on", Dunphy said, trying to hide the desperation from his voice.

The seven soldiers rushed to the front yard only to witness what they have feared the most: the front door was open, the majority of the civilians were out and getting eaten by the infected.

Dunphy nearly lost all hope... until he saw a bus that was coming in their direction. The first one, where Jeff was on the steering wheel, crashed through the front fence, destroying the majority of it.

"Jeff, what the hell...", Dunphy was confused.

"No time to talk, just get as many people as you can before we are overrun. The rest will be picked up by the other two buses. Go", Jeff replied.

"Everyone who is still alive and not bitten, enter the bus, now. Soldiers, kill as many of the infected as you can, we have to make sure the civilians make it, especially the kids. Put your life on the line if you have to", Captain Dunphy tried to rally his men.

"Come on kids, to the bus, follow me", Johnny said to his group, they didn't wait long as they started running with him.

Unfortunately for them, the front yard was like a massacre now, with most of the civilians dead or getting eaten alive, only a few of them managed to run away. The remaining civilians left the school, but now they seemed to regret their decision...

"Luna, he-", Luna heard someone calling her name and to her horror, it was Sam. A zombie was biting her arm with another two attacking her legs. As tears started to run down her cheeks, Luna tried to run towards her.

"Luna, stop, it's too late!", Lynn yelled but no avail. However, an elbow strike suddenly struck Luna in the back of her head, knocking her out.

"Sorry kid, but this was the only way", Johnny said as he put Luna on his shoulders and started to carry her towards the bus.

Lincoln glanced at the poor girl with a teal streak in her hair as she was getting torn apart by the zombies and her screams of agony filled his ears.

"Fuck this, man...", Lincoln whispered.

"Through here, there is a small opening between the infected, hurry!", Johnny yelled.

He was the first to get to the bus and put Luna on the first seat. Soon after him, Lisa, Lola, Lucy, Lincoln, Lynn, Leni, Lori, Bobby, Francisco and Clyde also entered the bus.

"Is everyone here?", Johnny asked.

"Yeah, it seems so", Lori said.

"Wait, two more", Clyde said.

Chandler and his girlfriend Jordan also entered the bus as the last two passengers.

"Just go now!", Chandler yelled.

Jeff stepped on the pedal and went on forward, hitting some zombies in the way, had he stayed just for a bit longer, they would have encircled the entire bus.

Lincoln eyed Chandler with a murderous look. What angered him, was how he entered the bus. Lana had fallen behind and had nearly entered the bus but Chandler pushed her aside so he and Jordan could enter, leaving Lana behind.

"Lana! Lana is missing!", Lola screamed, startling the entire bus.

"What?!", Lori was mortified.

"We can't go back now, I'm sorry, that place is overrun", Jeff said.

"Don't worry kids, she'll get on the other bus, we'll see her again as soon we rendezvous on a safer location", Johnny tried to calm the all down.

Back at the school, with the chaos erupting in the yard, Lana was on the ground after being briefly knocked out by Chandler.

"Ugh...my head..."

"Get up Lana, the second bus has arrived, we have to go", Ronnie Anne helped Lana to get on her feet as the two of them started to run towards the second bus.

"Hop up everyone, I can't stay here too long, we are getting swarmed.", Private Greffen yelled from the steering wheel of the second bus.

But, as Lana and Ronnie Anne tried to climb on the bus, two zombies attacked them and the two girls were knocked to the ground.

"No, Lana...", Ronnie Anne desperately said, but suddenly, an older man threw the two infected of the two girls and carried them to the bus.

"Thanks, mister...Grouse?!", Lana's face was in shock.

"One of the Louds?! You were here?! Doesn't matter now, go, you children are the most important!", Bud Grouse said with a smile as a zombie bit him on the throat behind him.

"No! We have to help him! He helped us!", Lana yelled as she tried to get out of the bus

"Too late now Lana, we can't risk it", Ronnie Anne silently said as she dragged Lana back to the bus.

Several more zombies attacked Grouse and started to feast on him. Ronnie Anne took Lana to the other side of the bus and covered her ears.

More zombies started to surround the bus, so Greffen started to shoot them with his pistol but there was just too many of them.

"We are going now, I can't risk it anymore", Greffen said, but as he tried to go, several more managed to barely enter the bus. They were Rocky, his brother Rusty, Haiku, Maggie and Lincoln's teacher Agnes Johnson. Greffen stepped on the gas pedal as hard as he could and drove away.

The last bus had finally arrived but at this moment, only a few survivors were still left standing. All of the soldiers were dead, except for Captain Dunphy, who had just used the last of his ammo, including his dead comrades' ammo that he borrowed after they fell.

"Chief, get in. This is the last one, everyone who has survived this far, get in. Now!", Private Wolcroft yelled.

"Not before the civilians, after them", Captain Dunphy said while panting. He was fighting the zombies while only using the gunstock of his rifle.

Some of the civilians stayed in the school as they thought it was safer to wait there than outside, and for the most part, they were right. But the infected now finally broke from the back side, and no one seemed to notice as they were too distraught with the current situation.

"The last bus has arrived, everyone, let's go!", Principal Wilbur Huggins said to the remaining survivors.

As he opened the door, the scene that they witnessed wasn't surprising, but it still hit them hard. The screams and cries of innocent people getting torn apart and not being able to help, was a very demoralising thing.

"Run straight to the bus, ignore everything else around you if you want to survive", Huggins ordered them as he started to sprint towards the bus. The other survivors followed him.

Captain Dunphy had several bite wounds over his entire body but he refused to fall.

"Not...until...all the civilians...are secured...", the proud soldier said as he was swinging his weapon at the large horde of the undead.

"Agh no!", Nurse Patti cried as a zombie grabbed her leg and she fell over. The others soon jumped on her and started to chew on her meat.

"Help, make it stop...", her cries were getting louder, horrifying the rest of the survivors.

"No, Patti! Get on the bus, I'm going to help her", Coach Pacowski said as he started to attack the infected with his baseball bat.

"I'm gonna help you", the janitor Norm also attacked the zombies with his crowbar.

"You fools, you're gonna die!", Huggins was angry but still entered the bus nonetheless. Zach, his girfriend Giggles, Liam and his girlfriend Tabby joined him.

"Come on, Polly, hurry!", Tabby yelled.

However, just as she was about to enter, a zombie slashed her across her right cheek with his claws, making her fall down.

"No! We gotta go back for her!", Tabby screamed.

"Sorry kid, I have to go. Can't stay here longer", Wolcroft said.

"Fuck this...", Tabby fell down on her knees and started to weep, Giggles and Liam hugged her to comfort her. The bus barely drove away, as there were a lot of the infected in front of it, so Private Wolcroft had to run over all of them.

"No, just, just get away from me...", Polly weakly said but the infected didn't listen: they started to bite down on her, eating her raw flesh as she screamed in pain and agony.

Coach Pacowski was long dead on the ground along with the janitor Norm as they were being eaten by the zombies. Nurse Patti, or what was left of her, was splattered on the ground a few meters away from Pacowski and Norm. The infected were still feasting on her remains.

Captain Dunphy could feel that he was slowly transforming into one, as his blood was becoming green in color. How did he manage to survive this long, considering all the bites, surprised him.

"If I'm going down...I'm taking a lot of you bastards down with me, you hear me...", Captain Dunphy whispered while panting from the pain of his wounds.

He gathered several frag grenades from his dead comrades and started to detonate them all as quickly as he could.

"God forgive me...", as several explosions detonated one after another, turning a lot of the infected into a pulp of meat. Still, a lot of them were still moving as their brain wasn't destroyed. The fallen survivors were now slowly starting to rise as the undead, adding more numbers to the seemingly never-ending army of the dead.

The sun was still high in the sky, shining bright, but for a lot of people today, it was their last time to see it.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

The third bus was driving east, just to get as far away as possible from the High School which now has become a massacre site. Dozens of dead humans, most of them missing limbs or ripped apart, were now reanimating as zombies, the living dead, further increasing their numbers. The Safe-Zone number 3, the High School, had officially fallen. Now only three Safe-Zones remain standing.

"Where are we going anyway? I don't how much gas I have and it's not gonna be a good thing if we get stranded somewhere where it's overrun with the undead", Wolcroft said.

"We can go the Middle School, it is pretty near, you just have to turn a little north", Huggins replied.

"Wait, the Middle School? That's Safe-Zone number 4, the last school that is still standing. That's our best shot now, let's just hope that it's in a good condition unlike the High School", Wolcroft concluded.

Tabby was sitting in her seat, while blankly staring in front of her.

"Is she gonna be okay?", Zach asked.

"She just needs time to get over it. Seeing her best friend getting torn apart and being unable to help devastated her greatly. Let's just leave her alone for a time until she's ready, that includes you too Liam", Giggles said.

"Of course, we're not going to disturb Tabby, she's taking it very hard", Liam added.

"Guys, don't forget who's taking this the hardest...", Zach whispered.

"Yeah, poor Rusty...", Liam sighed.

"They just recently started a relationship and now this...", Giggles said.

"Okay kids, look alive, we've arrived. I'm going to check it just to be sure, you stay here, including you Huggins", Wolcroft said as he left the bus.

There were some infected around the school but nowhere near as much as there were around the High School. Wolcroft sneaked from one spot to another until he approached the Middle School.

This school had its own fence yet rather strangely, it was in a fairly good shape. As Wolcroft stepped closer to the entrance, the more he found it odd that there was complete silence coming from the school. When he finally entered, he saw it.

It appears that the Middle School was completely abandoned, but a fair amount of supplies were lying on some tables in the hall. Wolcroft quickly made a run around the school, but no one was there.

"This is strange, I don't see any signs of violence here, maybe they moved to another location", the soldier deduced.

"I checked it all out, nobody is here at all, there is some food and clean water, the fence should hold since there are only six of us, we shouldn't attract any unwanted attention. Also it seems like there are a lot less of the infected here than in the High School area, let's just hope it stays that way.", Wolcroft said to the rest of his group as he returned to the them.

"What about the bus?", Huggins asked.

"We'll leave it here, around fifty meters away from the school, so that it's not too close or far, we can run quickly here if that need arises."

"That's a smart choice, soldier", Huggins said.

"Now, let's move quietly and try not to attract any unnecessary attention. I think we can stay here for a long time if we play it right", Wolcroft said to his small group.

The second bus was moving in the west direction. They managed to narrowly pass at the intersections because of the massive amounts of the infected that were spread around.

"Where are we even going?", teacher Agnes asked the driver.

"I, I don't know honestly, just as far away from that place as possible. Captain Dunphy, they all just...", Greffen sounded distraught over the death of his superior officer and fellow comrades. Only two were still alive and they went in different directions, will they ever even meet again?

"Wait, what's that?", Ronnie Anne said while pointing upwards with her finger.

On the right side, around hundred meters away from the next intersection, there was what seemed like a wall made from steel and an American flag was flying on a pole from the inside of the base. There were sniper positioned on several wooden towers placed at the edge of the fence and they were pointing at the bus.

"A military base? But Captain said nothing about it, not at this location anyway", Greffen was confused.

"Uh, what now? Those guys are pointing their rifles at us, should we just evade them or...", Lana asked. Greffen stopped the bus and turned it off, taking the keys with him.

"You wait in the bus, I'll settle this. Nobody moves without my approval", Greffen ordered the rest of the group, while exiting the bus. He raised his hands above his head and started to walk towards what seemed like a military base.

"Identify yourself soldier", said the sniper who was the nearest to him, while still holding him at gunpoint.

"Private Greffen, I was stationed at Safe-Zone number 3, my superior was Captain Dunphy."

"Was?", the sniper asked, lowering his rifle. The rest of the snipers did the same.

"Yeah...just now, the High School has fallen and most of the civilians who found refugee there have fallen victims to the infected. Of the twelve soldiers who were stationed there, only me and two more Privates have survived. Those of us who survived, we have split into three groups, the other two are led by the last two surviving soldiers, and I don't know where they have gone", Greffen said.

The sniper that talked with Greffen looked at him for a while, then descended from the tower. He could be heard talking with some people and then they opened the gate. It was also made from steel and black in color, like the rest of the wall.

"Come in, you and the civilians who survived", a soldier signaled Greffen with his right hand.

Greffen smiled and went back to the bus.

"Let's go guys, they are the military."

"What about the bus?", Agnes asked.

"It can stay here for now, let's just get in before any potential infected appear."

One by one, they all left the bus and entered the base, two soldiers closed the gate behind them.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Finally some fresh meat", a man said with a deep voice, as he approached Greffen's group. It was Sergeant Macmiller.

Lana and Ronnie Anne took a closer look at him. He was fairly tall, with broad shoulders, a diagonal scar was running across his right eye, nose and ending at the left side of his jaw. His eyes were hazel-colored, and his hairstyle was a crew cut. There was stubble on his face, and his hair and beard were showing signs of greying.

"Sergeant Macmiller! I'm glad to see you, how's the rest of your unit", Greffen asked while saluting the older and more experienced officer.

"They're good but I heard that your comrades have bitten the dust. What happened at the High School?", the Sergeant asked him.

"Eh, I'd rather not talk about it Sarge, it's still too fresh on my mind, we lost many great men", Greffen replied, trying to keep his composure.

"You have done well soldier, too well. The United States were proud to have a son like you", Macmiller said as he pulled his gun.

"Were...?", was the last word Greffen had ever said, as Macmiller shot him in the head, splattering blood on the kids and Agnes behind him. His lifeless body fell to the ground as his group members winced at the sound of the gunshot and his body hitting the ground.

Silence ensued. Lana fell to the ground, grabbing her head with her hands, and starting to shake. What was all this? They came to a safe place at last and now this... I just want my brother and my sisters, my parents and my friends, where are they, why am I all alone, why...

The six-year-old girl started to cry but someone hugged her from behind.

"Lana, don't cry, you're not alone, I am here for you. Whatever this is, I'm sure it will get sorted out, eventually. Just please stay calm, for your family", Ronnie Anne whispered to the broken little girl.

"This really breaks your heart, doesn't it? Clean this up, now", Macmiller said.

"What the fuck is going on here?! Why did you kill him?!", Agnes screamed at the scarred soldier.

Macmiller furrowed his brows and slapped her as hard as he could, knocking her to the ground. Her lip was busted and blood started to spurt from the wound. The rest of the kids just fell on their knees out of desperation.

"What are we going to do with them boss?", a soldier asked.

"Tie 'em all up, we're getting out of this shithole. Detroit is near, that's our next destination. I had asked my 'superiors' to bomb the fuck out of these shitty little towns and focus our strength on the bigger cities. That way we'll slow their advances and be able to launch a counter-attack on them from the metropolises, but since those cocksuckers didn't listen, they wanted to give everyone a chance, and now you can see how much how a chance they have. We're doing this the hard way.", Macmiller explained.

Greffen's body was carried away to an unknown room while the rest of his group was tied up and escorted one by one to a truck. Lana, Ronnie Anne, Rocky, Rusty, Haiku, Maggie, Agnes, in that order.

But as they were escorted, Lana saw a logo that looked oddly similar.

"FEMA? Why does that sound so familiar...", Lana whispered to herself.

The first bus, that was carrying the most passengers, was driving south. Jeff actually wanted to go east, to the Middle School but there were too many zombies on the path that he took so he turned around and now they were driving half-way between the Loud house and the McBride residence.

"How the fuck could this happen?! How could he forget about our little sister?!", Lori screamed, the veins on her neck were clearly visible from the anger and frustration she was currently feeling.

"I-I-I don't know, she was just behind me, I couldn't even hear or see that she dissappeared from all the chaos that was erupting around us. I...", Lola said, as she started to weep for her twin sister. Sure, the two of them were complete oposites to one another, but they were still sisters, shared a room and most importantly, they were the only pair of twins from the Loud family, which meant that they were the most connected.

"We have to get back and find her! Now!", Lori yelled despite Bobby attempts to calm her down.

"Absolutely not, every area behind us is overrun, I'm not gonna risk all of our lives for this. Plus, there were two more buses, she was saved by one of them, I'm sure", said Jeff from the steering wheel, keeping en eye on the road.

"Turn back now, do you fucking hear me?!", Lori grabbed the soldier's shoulder as hard as she could with her right hand. Johnny and Bobby rushed in to prevent any further incident.

Frustrated, Jeff suddenly stepped on the brakes, causing all of the passenger to fall down.

"Ouch, this hurted...", Lola complained, along with some others.

"You want to go find her? Fine then, you can step outside, I'll give you my gun and you're free to go and find her, on your own, and on foot. I lost my commanding officer, all of my comrades except two, and I'm sure as hell not gonna shit on their sacrifices to go back there and die to some sick freaks. Your sister was picked up by either Greffen or Wolcroft, when we settle somewhere safe, we'll see what to do about her but for now, our efforts should be focused on those of us who are still here, in this fucking bus. So, what's it gonna be, kid?", Jeff said to Lori with a grim expression, but it felt like he was talking to the entire group.

"Johnny, please, you have to convince him, Bobby you too honey, Linc...", Lori said quietly, stoping before the end as she didn't know what else to say.

"I'm sorry, Lori, but Private Jeff is right. It's too dangerous to go back there, plus we lack weapons, we have like, what, two guns with one or two more clips and a baseball bat. We'll get overwhelmed in seconds and I don't what to imagine that happening. Please, you have to understand.", Johnny said as gently as he could, talking to someone vulnerable like Lori was at this moment seemed very risky.

"Honey, you heard them, please calm down. When we all get to a safer place , I promise you, I will personally go and look for Lana", Bobby whispered to Lori as he was hugging her.

"Okay then...", Lori weakly managed to say.

"Good, let's get out of here before we get stranded here around these freaks.", Jeff said as he sat on the wheel and started to drive again.

Bobby sat with his girlfriend on the first seat on the right side while the rest of the kids were sitting behind them in pairs, Francisco with Lynn, Lincoln with Clyde, Lucy with Leni, Lola with Lisa, Chandler with Jordan. Luna was still unconscious from Johnny's blow, she was lying on the first seat on the left side with Johnny right behind her.

Did I hit her too hard?", Johnny whispered as he glanced at her. Poor girl, she just saw her friend getting eaten alive, and it'll only get worse when she wakes up and realises that she couldn't have done anything to save her. She looks so pretty, so innocent, kinda like my sweet Sherry looked like. Oh God no, not now, I don't need this shit now, Johnny lightly hit himself in the head.

"There it is, the Royal Woods Mall, we'll land there", Jeff said, breaking the silence.

"The Mall? Are you sure? What if someone is there already?", Johnny asked.

"Well then we're gonna have to kick them out and take it for ourselves, right?", Jeff replied.

Johnny stared at him with a surprised look on his face.

"Just kidding. But let's pray to God that not everything has been stolen or destroyed. Considering that there's a lot of us, we will be needing quite a few amounts of food and water. Anyway, I'll stop on the parking lot and then we'll walk some fifty meters to the Mall, just to be sure", Jeff ordered the group.

After turning left and right on the intersection, they finally entered the parking lot of the Mall. There were some cars scattered across the large lot but most of them were destroyed or damaged.

"Okay kids, you heard the soldier. Exit the bus while I carry Luna", Johnny said.

One by one, they left the bus, Johnny who carried Luna in his hands, left the last. Jeff locked the bus with his keys.

"Okay, now we move slow and carefully, don't try anything heroic or stupid. Follow my lead", Jeff said and started to walk forward. The rest of the group followed him.

Lincoln was walking the last, he didn't take his eyes of Chandler since he saw what he did back there. There was a murderous intent in Lincoln's eyes, a hidden fire and rage was heating him up inside, just ready to burst out at any moment. That little shit, how dare he hurt my little sister, my Lana, and act so nonchalantly, like he didn't do anything wrong. But I can't do nothing now, nobody is gonna believe me at this moment, they'll just cast it off like I'm under grief or some crap like this. I will wait, for a while, but not too long, to have a little...talk with Chandler. Lincoln was determined in this, like nothing ever before.

"Chandler, what you did back there...that was horrible. What if the girl's dead, what if they find out, they'll kill us, throw us to the infected. What will we do now?", Jordan was visibly distraught over Chandler's actions back there as she whispered to him while holding hands together and walking behind Jeff.

"Don't think about that now, I made sure that nobody saw it. And I don't think that you would prefer if we had stayed there, surrounded by those monsters, would you?", Chandler replied, a little louder than her but still being careful to stay quiet around the others.

"No, but I also don't want someone else to die so that I could live, that feels very wrong."

"You're too kind and compassionate, but you'll understand. Sometimes you have to do bad things to stay alive, I'm not happy about what I did, but you and me are the most important things right now.", Chandler said as he kissed her on the cheek. Jordan slightly blushed.

"Lynn, do you think that Lana is still alive?", Lola asked her older sister as she walked by her side.

"Of course! Lana is the toughest Loud after Pop-Pop and me, this is like a walk in the park for her. Don't be worried about her, we will meet again soon enough. Instead, try to focus on your survival from now on", Lynn replied with a smile and patted her younger sister on the head.

"I'm sorry for what I did back there, it's just...", Lori said to Private Jeff as she walked behind him.

"Don't sweat it, I have already forgotten about it", the soldier replied without turning around.

"The doors seem damaged but not destroyed. We might be able to improvise somehow and make them immune to the infected. And speaking of them, I think I can hear some growling in there. Before we make any plans, we have to go in and clear it out of any infected", Johnny said to the group as they approached the front doors.

"And what if we find other people there?", Lynn asked.

"If they're nice people, we'll become friends. If they're not nice, we'll ask them to leave, or make them leave", Jeff replied.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

"So, what's the plan?", Johnny asked.

"It's pretty simple. You and me go in, and clear out the area of any infected. They can stay here, and if something happens, the kids can call over and we'll come in a second", Jeff replied.

"Leave them here alone?! You can't be serious!", Johnny was shocked.

"Oh come on, they are tough kids. That girl with the bat looks like she can kick some ass, right?"

"Uh, yeah, definitely", Lynn blushed while tightly holding her baseball bat.

"I don't know...", Johnny whispered.

"It's ok Johnny, we can stay here for a while. There are no nearby zombies, and if anyone comes near, I'll take care of them", Lynn said while swinging the bat around her.

"All right, but we'll do this as fast as we can. I still don't like the idea of leaving you here alone but whatever", Johnny sighed and entered the Mall along with Jeff.

The great hall of the Mall was surprisingly quiet considering its size.

"I''m pretty sure that I heard some noises from the outside but there is nothing here", Johnny said.

"Hmm, there are probably infected around the various stores and that is gonna be the hardest part. They could be hidden in corners or in tight spots, which is why we need to watch each other's back. Where should we start, what do you think?", Jeff asked.

"I think the food court would be the best choice now as it's the most important. I can imagine that we are all hungry and thirsty after everything that had happened today."

"Yeah, I agree, we should start there. Come on", Jeff started to walk to the right side where the food department was located.

"Wait, what about the weapons?", Johnny asked.

"What do you mean?", Jeff stopped walking and turned aound.

"I mean, we won't use our guns, right? They're too loud and we're low on ammunition, if we use our knives...", Johnny said.

"I think I have something even better", Jeff smirked as he walked towards the wall. There were two fire axes on the ground and a lot of broken glass scattered around. Jeff picked them up and gave one to Johnny.

"Damn, this is sweet. Seems like someone broke through the glass to take them but forgot about it", Johnny said.

"Luckily for us, they did. Now, let's start, to the food store."

The weather outside was cloudy with a small hint of sun behind the wall of the gray clouds.

"I still can't believe that all this had happened in such a short time. This morning started so peaceful and now most of the people who were at the school are dead and the ones who survived are scattered around", Bobby said to the group members outside.

"We all let out guard down but we can't let it happen again. Not anymore", Lynn said as she was sitting by Francisco's side on the ground.

Clyde and Lincoln were sitting on the other side. Both of them were silent the entire time, even more than Lucy, which was a rare occurrence. They were staring at their own problems now, with Clyde was slowly eating himself inside as he crush was meters away from him with her boyfriend, while Lincoln was still staring at Chandler and Jordan but was careful not to have eye contact with any of them to prevent any suspicion.

"Agh...ouch...where am I...", Luna whispered as she started to slowly get up.

"Oh, Luna is up. Careful now with her", Lori said to the rest of the group while keeping her voice down.

"Hey Luna, how are you? You slept well?", Lynn asked her older sister, trying to sound as cheerful as possible in this type of situation.

"I'm okay, I guess, my head hurts a little though, like a truck run over it", Luna said as she rubbed her head.

"You, uh, slipped and fell, hitting your head quite a bit, but it's good", Lori nervously said.

"But the last thing that I remember, it was like from the worst nightmare, there were those monsters all around us, people were dying, it was horrible. But the most horrible thing was seeing Sam...oh God I can't even say, I just want to forget it. So, where is she now?", Luna asked the entire group as she slowly got up.

"Oh no, the cop's strike must have given her short-time amnesia, the poor girl doesn't even know that Sam's dead", Francisco whispered to his girlfriend.

"Yeah, this is gonna suck", Lynn replied.

"Uh, Luna you might want to sit down again, just, uh, just in case, you know...", Lori said as she started to walk towards her younger sister.

"Wait a second, where the fuck is Sam?! And why is everyone staring at me like that, what the hell is going on here?!", Luna was now starting to get nervous.

Everyone was looking at Luna, with a pitying and sad expression, even Lincoln managed to get his eyes of Chandler and was now looking at his older sister.

"Luna...that 'dream' that you had, it wasn't a dream, that was reality, it happened in the real world. I'm sorry but Sam is...", Lori put her hands on Luna's shoulders but couldn't finish the sentence.

"No, just no, fuck no, that's a mistake, right? It must be a mistake, it can't be possible!", Luna fell on her knees and started to yell and weep. But before she could continue her grieving, Lynn rushed to her side and put her hand on Luna's mouth.

"Look, I'm sorry for your loss, but you have to be quiet, we're in the open here. Johnny and that soldier guy are clearing the inside of the Mall so that we can settle in and until they have done it we have to stay here. Please, you have to understand", Lynn whispered to her older sister and then hugged her tightly.

"We were just...", Luna wanted to say something but just gave up and continued to cry on Lynn's shoulder.

"So, have many have we cleared so far?", Johnny asked.

"Uh, I think only the boutique remains unchecked", Jeff replied.

"Only hated those types of places, and now I have a valid reason", Johnny smirked.

"Yeah, no shit", Jeff chuckled.

After some time had passed, Luna was sitting against the wall, and was staring blankly in front of her. She didn't say a word since she let go of Lynn's embrace. The rest of the group didn't speak with her as to let her cool her head a bit.

"I'm really worried for Luna, will she be okay?", Lola whispered to Lucy.

"She'll overcome it, eventually. For now, we have to let her be alone for a while", Lucy coldly said.

"Don't say a word about Lana to Luna, it could finish her off completely", Lori said to the group while keeping her voice down.

"Wait, what is that?", Leni asked.

Everyone turned around. It was an infected man and he was slowly dragging himself over the parking lot. He was coming closer and closer to them.

"With all this happening around Luna we didn't even see this one coming. Shall we go inside?", Lori asked the group.

"No, it's just a single one, nothing to worry about. I can take him on my own", Lynn said as she grabbed her baseball bat and started to walk towards it.

"Lynn, what the hell, come back here, it's too dangerous!", Lori yelled on her younger sister.

"I'll go and get her", Francisco said as he rushed to his girlfriend's side.

"Lynn do you really think that you can take him on your own? Do you need help?", he asked her.

"I can do it, just watch."

She stopped walking just several meters away from the infected.

Lynn took a deep breath.

"Okay, just Johnny told me, first the knee then the head."

The thirteen-year-old girl quickly stepped behind the zombie, and hit him in the knee, causing him to fall down. The infected swinged his hands at her and started to growl as he tried to get up.

"Now, finish him off!", Francisco yelled.

"With pleasure", Lynn smirked.

She swinged her bat downwards and hit the zombies' head, the cracking of his skull could be heard. She swinged it again and again, until he finally stopped moving.

"Nice but I would have done it faster", Francisco laughed.

"I'm still the one with the bat, don't forget", Lynn teased him as she started to swipe the bloody remains from her bat off the zombies' clothes.

"Woah, you got me there", her boyfriend chuckled.

The rest of the group watched in astonishment.

"Remind me not to get on Lynn's bad side", Bobby jokingly said.

"Yeah, that's one of the things that you should never do", Lucy said in her usual monotone voice.

"Get over here you two, now!", Lori yelled.

"Come on Lynn, your sister is calling us", Francisco signaled towards the rest of the group.

"Okay, let's...oh my God, this can't be happening...", Lynn said in horror as she turned her head behind her.

"And? Have you found anything here? I can't even smell them since there are still perfumes and other shit scattered around and it kills any smell here", Jeff said.

"This has to be the cleanest room so far. Not a single zombie here, sure the place is a mess like any other, most of the stuff has been stolen, but at least there aren-", however Johnny was cut off mid-sentence when Jeff grabbed his shoulder.

"There, behind that stall, I can see someone's head and it's slightly shaking", Jeff whispered.

They slowly started to sneak towards the stall but suddenly a girl with brown hair and a mole on her cheek jumped in front of them with a pocket knife, holding it in front of her.

"Get the fuck away from me, you won't take me too!", she yelled at them.

"Woah kid, calm down, we're not gonna hurt you. See, I'm a cop and he's a soldier, you're safe with us, now please put that knife down before you get hurt", Johnny said as he slowly started to walk towards the scared girl.

"No, I'm not...I'm not falling for this shit again, we already had soldiers here and they kidnapped everyone or killed them. I'm the last who remains and you won't take me", said the girl as she took a step backwards while still holding the pocket knife towards the two men.

"We don't have time for this shit, Johnny. I'm gonna disarm her", Jeff said, visibly irritated.

"No, wait, that won't be necessary, nobody needs to get hurt here. Listen, girl, I trust you, there are some bad soldiers, I saw it with my own eyes, but this guy over here, he's a good man. Plus, we are not alone, in fact, most our group's members are younger than you, with one or two your age. So you can come with us and, who knows, maybe you'll recognize someone of them as your friend", Johnny said as he lowered the gun. Jeff sighed and did the same.

The girl kept holding the knife for a few more seconds and then finally put it back in her pocket.

"Okay, I guess, I'm outgunned here anyway. I'll come with you but the knife stays with me, just in case I get attacked by those infected freaks, nothing to do with you", the girl said.

"That makes sense, we can agree to that, right Jeff?", Johnny asked.

"Whatever, let's just get the kids inside, this place is clear", the soldier said as he started to walk towards the hall. Johnny and the girl soon followed him.

"Lynn! Come on, it's not safe here!", Francisco yelled. But, his girlfriend was still staring behind her, and didn't seem to react to him at all.

"Hey Lynn, what the matter?", he asked her as he grabbed her arm. She winced, and turned her head towards him.

"Look at that...", Lynn said as she pointed towards the intersection that was around a hundred meters away from the Mall and the parking lot.

"Oh shit...no way...", Francisco whispered with a horrified expression on his face.

A large herd of the infected was approaching them, step by step. Their growling at first was distant but as they were getting closer, it slowly got louder.

"How-how many do-do you think there are?", Lynn asked with a shaky voice.

"A hundred, at least, probably more. We have to go inside, now", Francisco grabbed her hand and started to run towards the rest of the group altough it looked more like he was dragging her with him.

"What took you two so long?!", Lori was angry.

"No time to explain, we have to get inside the Mall, there is a large herd coming!", Francisco yelled.

"A herd of what...oh no...", Lori was confused but soon realised what was happening.

"Quickly, inside!", Bobby commanded them as the whole group got into the Mall and Bobby and Francisco close the door and locked them.

"Will this hold?", Bobby asked.

"I hope so, if it can hold off the stampede of Black Friday then it won't have any problems with these guys", Francisco and Bobby chuckled.

"What the hell is going on here?!", Jeff yelled as he, Johnny and the girl arrived.

"There's a massive herd coming towards us, we had to lock the doors", Bobby said.

"But why now all of a sudden, how couldn't we see it?", Johnny was confused.

"Well, the herd moved on the opposite side of the street that we passed by when we moved here. Plus we weren't paying any attention so it was kinda hard to hear them. I'm sorry", Lynn said, as she recuperated from the slight shock of seeing such a massive herd.

"Leni? And those two guys", the girl that Johnny and Jeff found said as she pointed at Lincoln and Clyde.

"Huh?", Lincoln and Clyde almost simultaneously said.

"Fiona! You are totes alive and well!", Leni cheefully exclaimed and jumped to hug her friend.

"Oh, Leni, it's good to see you", Fiona said as she returned the hug.

"Let's go to the second floor, we'll have a better view from above", Jeff said.

The group made their way to the second floor by the moving staircase, which wasn't working so they had to climb on on their own.

"There are...a lot of them but we can't see that much from here. Maybe if we go to the roof?", Lori suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Me and Jeff are going to the roof to take a better look, the rest of you can stay here, we cleared the the interior, you'll be safe", Johnny said.

"Can I come too, please?", Lynn asked, with her puppy eyes.

"Fine", Johnny sighed.

"There are the stairs, come on", Jeff signaled them as they climbed up to the roof.

"Wow, what a great view", Lynn watched in astonishment.

"It was great once, now it's something else...", Johnny said.

"Perfect, fucking perfect. Just look at this, they are everywhere", Jeff furrowed his brow.

Johnny, Jeff and Lynn could only look in horror as the infected slowly encircled the entire Mall, as more and more of them poured from all sides. It seemed like the their location was a magnet for the dead to invade.

"So, I guess we're gonna have to crash here for a while, eh", Lynn scratched her head while nervously laughing.

"Yeah, it seems so. At least we should be safe here for a while and have something to eat", Johnny said.

"So, what about Lana, when will we go and look for her? And Ronnie Anne too? I don't think that Bobby has even realized that his sister is also missing. Poor guy", Lynn said while looking at the police officer.

"I don't think that we're going anywhere with this massive herd outside anytime soon though. I'll try and find a way out of here, somehow, so that I can go personally search for her. But I still think that the best thing has happened: that she and the other girl have been saved by the other bus", Johnny replied.

"Why do you think so?", Jeff asked.

"I don't know, I guess hope never dies", Johnny said as the stared into the waves and waves of the undead that made a circle around the Mall and it seemed like their numbers weren't going to go down, not anytime soon anyway.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

One week had passed since Johnny's group made the Mall their temporary home and situation didn't get any better. The infected were still all around the Mall and it didn't seem like they were just going to leave. In fact, to the survivors, it looked like their numbers were slowly rising, day by day.

"So, what do you think, how long will we have to wait?", Jeff asked Johnny as they were both standing on the roof while looking at the vast army of the undead beneath them.

"I don't know man, just look at them, there are like hundreds of the zombies down bellow. And it's not like we can kill them to carve a way out. It would take us days and days to do that and it's very risky, I don't think that it's worth the risk", Johnny sighed.

"I see. But I think I know a way that doesn't involve us getting killed or getting our hands dirty", Jeff smirked.

"What, how?"

"Do you see how big this Mall is? Have you ever been through all the stores?"

"No, only a few of them, and even then it was with my wi-, I mean, I didn't really. Why, is there something that could help us?"

"There's huge store for sports equipment, that I didn't even know existed."

"And? How's that gonna help us?", Johnny was confused.

"Well I found some paragliding stuff there, which wasn't stolen or raided and I think that we could escape from here with them", Jeff said.

"Wait a second, are you suggesting that we should paraglide from the roof to the ground, away from the infected?"

"Not quite. I did find some parachutes so we could use them."

"Parachutes? I don't know...the roof is not that high that we could jump down and evade the infected. We'll have to wait for a strong wind, sprint from one side to the edge of other and pray to God that it carries us away from the zombies and that we reach the ground before they reach us and devour us whole. You really think that it's worth the risk?", Johnny scratched his head as he turned toward the soldier.

"So it's settled, we wait for the wind", Jeff smirked and went off the roof to the second floor of the Mall.

"Hey, I didn't say that", Johnny chuckled as he followed him down and close the door behind him.

However, as the men descended from the roof, there was Lori waiting for them, with a worrying expression on her face.

"Hey, Lori, is everything okay?", Johnny said as he put his right hand on her shoulder.

"Not really, not at all. Luna and Lola are sick, really sick and I don't know what to do. I tried to cool them down with cold water and bandages, but their fever is still too high. I'm afraid that it might be something more serious", Lori said while visibly shaking.

"Could it be a bite?", Jeff asked as he approached her.

"No, I checked them both several times and there isn't a scratch on them."

"It must be from stress, considering that they lost a sister and one has gone missing, plus Luna's best friend also died, it all accumulated and just burst down on the poor girls. Wait a second, I thought I saw a drugstore on the first floor or did I just imagine that?", Johnny said.

"No, you're right, there's a small drugstore down bellow, but I have also checked it. Unfortunately, everything that was there was raided and stolen, not a single pill or a painkiller remains. Everything is gone. And, judging by their state, I think that a regular painkiller might not even help them, an antibiotic would be needed and only a doctor would know about that. If only we had a doctor here...", Lori bowed down her head in defeat.

"Well, what you know, we might just have one", Johnny smiled while tapping the girl on the shoulder.

"Wait, where?", Lori was confused.

"He isn't here currently but I will got and get him, I think that he's still in the hospital. His name is Jay and he's my schoolmate."

"But we can't go outside, there's zombies all around the building. It would be suicide opening the door and stepping into them."

"I know that but Luna and Lola are sick and they need help, now. Plus Jeff has a plan how to get outside and it looks like we're gonna implement it today already", Johnny giggled.

"Yeah, we're gonna do that. Those two girls will get all the help they need, I promise you that", Jeff reassured Lori.

"Thank you so much, you have been so caring towards us since all of this started", Lori said as she rushed to hug Johnny as tightly as she could.

"All right, all right, let's go the sports equipment shop before I start to get real emotional here", Jeff chuckled as the other also laughed.

Lincoln was standing in front of the main door and staring at the zombies that were hitting and scratching on the glass, but to no avail as the glass was thick and the doors were only a few meters long so the vast majority of the infected were trying to get through to the front but were ironically blocked off by their fellow zombies in front of them. Looks like they were also useful for something, Lincoln smirked.

Because of his anger and resentment towards Chandler, he completely forgot about his sister Lana and girlfriend Ronnie Anne. Were they safe, were they taken by the second or the third bus or some other survivors, or did the meet their end in the most horrible way possible-by being torn apart and eaten alive. No, it can't be, both Lana and Ronnie Anne are two of the toughest people he knew, they wouldn't get defeated by some slow-ass freaks, Lincoln thought.

Now for Chandler, Lincoln wasn't fully sure what to do. But whatever he planned to do, nobody can know about this, nobody. They would call him crazy or mad, or other idiotic words like that. But Lincoln knew what he saw, he was sure at it, like nothing ever in his life. What if someone else saw it but just kept quiet for the same reasons as Lincoln-that nobody would believe them? Maybe Lincoln should go to all the group members and talk with them, thus deducing if anyone else saw Chandler do what he did.

But on the other hand, that isn't a good idea, they'd think that he's paranoid and overreacting and...wait, yes, that should do it. Lincoln turned around from watching the infected and started to walk to a nearby store.

Lucy, Lynn and Francisco were sitting in the Mall Caffe that was on the second floor or what was left of it. Most of the tables and chairs were damaged or completely destroyed by the previous 'visitors'. But luckily for the trio, they managed to find an untouched table with three chairs just for them.

"This is so boring, I want to go outside", Lynn yawned.

"I don't think that that would be a good idea right now, considering all of the undead outside", Lucy said in her usual monotone voice.

"I know, but unlike you, I'm not used to just sitting between four walls and writing some mediocre vampire fanfictions, you know?", Lynn teased her younger sister and roommate.

"Your attempts to anger me are amusing but it won't work, it never works, remember?", Lucy replied with a small hint of a smile on her lips.

"It was worth a shot", Lynn laughed.

"Is this normal for the two of you or does this only happen in situations like this?", Francisco was confused.

"Oh, this is a normal thing in our family, don't worry, you'll be seeing it a long since you're gonna stick with us for a long time it seems", Lynn chuckled.

"I don't mind it as long as I'm with you", Francisco kissed his girlfriend on her right cheek, causing her to blush.

"Kill me", Lucy sighed while rolling her eyes.

"Poor Bobby, he's eating himself up inside from worry about what happened to his sister, do you think that he's gonna be okay?", Clyde asked Lisa as they were sitting on the bench on the first floor.

"I'd assume yes, after some time. If he lets his optimism overpower his pessimism, it would be possible", Lisa said while adjusting her glasses.

"Uh...yeah...whatever you say", Clyde nervously scratched his head.

When Clyde still had his unhealthy crush on Lori, he despised Bobby, her actual boyfriend, but the hate was one-sided on Clyde's side. But as Clyde has grown out of this childish unrequited love, so has his pointless resentment of Bobby dissappeared.

"Okay this is gonna be awkward", Clyde whispered as he started to walk towards Bobby who was standing near the boutique, leaned against the wall.

"Hey, Bobby, what's up, how you, uh, doing?", Clyde said, trying to sound as happily as possible.

"Oh, hey Clyde. To be honest with you, I'm don't feel so good", Bobby replied as he faked a smile.

"Worried about Ronnie Anne?"

"Yeah, even though I try to convince myself that she made it out of there alive, there's always a feeling, something inside of me that keep telling me that she died", Bobby said as he bowed down his head.

"Come one now, you speak like you don't know your little sister. She's one of the toughest people I know, she and Lana both, they are alive and well, just in another shelter, trust me", Clyde said.

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do, and so should you. There's no use in being pessimistic all the time, you have to look on the brighter side."

"All right, I'll do that, thanks mate", Bobby tapped him on the shoulders and started to run towards the second floor.

"Hey, where are you going now?", Clyde asked him.

"I don't know exactly, somewhere where I can be optimistic", Bobby said as he waved him off.

Never knew that I was such a wizard with words, Clyde mumbled to himself.

"So, Fiona you were here the whole time?", Leni asked her friend as they sitting in the raided boutique which was their workplace.

"Yeah, back when all of this started happening, there were soldiers and cops around here, they were taking care of this place", Fiona replied.

"You had it quiet good her then."

"For a few hours, yeah. Until that bastard came and started to kidnap everyone. Just when you think that people would unite against a common threat like this, it's only then that you see their true face, they do things that you never thought you'd see from them", Fiona said.

"Okay, this is scary, can we talk about something nicer, like the new dresses that have arrived here two weeks ago?", Leni quickly tried to change the theme.

"Oh, Leni, you're so naive as always", Fiona whispered.

"Chandler, when will you tell them?", Jordan asked her boyfriend as they were walking through the food store, inspecting the mostly-empty shelves.

"Oh God, not this shit again...", Chandler said in disbelief.

"What? How can you sleep at night knowing what you did? They deserve to know at least."

"And then what? They'd either throw us out to be eaten or straight up kill us. Have you noticed how Lincoln looks at me? He tried his best to avert it but I managed to see his eyes a few times, and man...that look...I have never seen anything like that before, that amount of hatred and anger, it gave me the chills, I've never felt that kind of fear in my life. That guy's a fucking psychopath, just like his older sister Lynn. I'm gonna have to eliminate them before they get to me...", Chandler whispered in her ears, with a devilish grin, causing the girl to back off a few steps.

"Chandler, what the hell?! I don't recognize you anymore, how can you say such things?! I telling them what happened to Lana and you aren't stopping me!", Jordan lashed at him and started to leave the food store but Chandler ran towards her and grabbed her by her hair, while putting a pocketknife on he throar.

"You will be a good little girl, and you won't do such a stupid thing, right Jordan?", Chandler whispered to her ear while still holding her.

"I won't...say...a thing...", Jordan said as she struggled to keep her composure. The poor girl could feel warm tears slowly falling down her cheeks.

"See, that's the Jordan that I like and fell in love with", Chandler said as he kissed her on her right cheek, tasting the salt from her tears on his lips.

"So...will this work?", Lori asked as she, Johnny and Jeff were standing on the roof, with two parachutes brought from the sports department.

"I mean, there is a chance...with wind...but there is currently no strong wind, despite being cloudy", Jeff said.

"No, it must work, it has to. Luna's and Lola's health depends on it, we have to risk it all", Johnny said as he put the parachute on his back.

"Eh I love adventures", Jeff smirked as he did the same.

"Okay, this is how we're gonna do it. The Hospital is south from the Mall, even souther than the Police Station. Since we're standing at the center of the roof and facing towards the Hospital, we'll turn around and run from the beginning of the roof to the end and jump."

"And then?", Jeff was confused.

"And we pray that we don't fall into the infected and get eaten for dinner", Johnny said.

"Sounds like a plan to me", Jeff chuckled.

"Lori, you can go back inside, we'll come as soon as we can, don't worry."

"Thank you both so much", Lori hugged Johnny and then went down from the roof.

"She might have a thing for you man", Jeff teased the confused police officer.

"No, she's too young and already has someone. Come on, it's already noon, let's go before the dark falls down", Johnny said.

The two men walked to the north side of the roof and turned towards the south side.

"Okay, now open your parachute", Johnny said as both he and Jeff activated their parachutes.

"Now sprint as fast you can!", Johnny yelled as the two of them started to sprint towards the south end of the roof.

"Jump as high as you can, now!", Johnny yelled as he and Jeff leaped into the air.

With the sounds of the countless zombies bellow growling at them, the parachutes managed to carry them just beyond the reach of the infected. They landed some ten meters away from the infected.

"Holy shit man, that was crazy!", Jeff exclaimed.

"Yeah, that was fucked up. Now, let's get these things off our backs and double-time it to the hospital", Johnny said. Jeff nodded.

The two men took off their parachutes and started to run south, towards the hospital.

"Look at that, they noticed us but just turned around and are continuing to pound the walls of the Mall", Jeff said as tried to catch up to Johnny, who was faster and ahead a few meters.

"Look like the scent from the kids who stayed inside is stronger than ours, that's why they aren't following us", Johnny replied as he glanced towards Jeff.

What they had seen as the ran through the city, was something they had expected. The cars were crashed into tress or buildings, partially damaged or completely destroyed. Some of them were burning. The street were full of corpses but the thing that disgusted them the most, was seeing zombies children or dead children lying on the ground, brutally killed or just ran over by a car, like animals.

"Fucking hell, who would ever hurt a child like this? I understand if it's an infected but normal, innocent kids?! What the fuck man?", Jeff said as he was slowly getting tired from running.

"Some people are just like that, plain evil. But there are some who were once good guys, and in a desperate situation like this infection now, they do horrible things, sometimes they are necessary, but sometimes they do it just to satisfy their own self de-", Johnny stopped running, turned his head left and started to stare at something.

Jeff, who was running right behind, barely managed to stop himself from crashing into him.

"Shit, man what the hell?", Jeff furrowed his brow.

"Look at that...", Johnny whispered as he pointed left.

It was the police station. There were a lot of zombies, in and around the entire station, just wandering with some of them fighting for some leftover corpses and feasting on them. A significant majority of the infected were wearing police uniforms, which already told Johnny and Jeff everything they needed to know, without even saying a word.

"Jesus Christ, even the police station is lost...", Jeff sighed, "...but this must be much harder for you, right? You probably lost many friends here".

Johnny took a deep breath and looked at the sky, which was dominated by grey and sorrowful clouds.

"Honestly, most of them arrogant or corrupt pricks, only a few of them were actually cops in the real sense of cops, who actually wanted to help people. My schoolmate Ryan, who was also my police partner, was a little rough at times, he probably belonged to the group that I first mentioned, but still, he was my friend, probably my best friend. To think that he died here, eaten by some monsters...let's just go and get the doctor, the girls need us", Johnny said as he started to walk forwards.

"Wait, we're not running", Jeff asked.

"We have to cool down a little, plus it seems that there are more infected in the area between the police station and the hospital than in the area that we passed, that is the path between the Mall and the station", Johnny explained.

"So, we're gonna sneak from cover to cover until the hospital?"

"Precisely, it'll take a while but at least it will keep us safe. Come on."

The two men managed to slowly but surely reach the hospital while some human voices along the way. But they didn't even bother to check them out and made sure not to reveal their presence, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Well, here we are, the Royal Woods hospital and it looks fucked up just as I thought it would be", Jeff sarcastically said.

"Wait, we didn't bring any weapons, right?", Johnny asked.

"No, we were afraid that it would drag us down as we made our famous jump down to the ground."

"Damn, we could have least brought some knives with us."

"Well, on the first glance , it doesn't look as bad as the police station, so there will probably be less of the infected in there, which would make our job easier."

Johnny and Jeff sneaked past several zombies without attracting any attention, and finally entered the hospital.

"So, where do we start? Should we go room to room or just yell from the top of our lungs and see if anyone still alive responds to our call?", Jeff smirked.

"First we'll go to my friend's Jay office, he's a general practitioner MD, to see if he's still alive. Then we'll what to do next", Johnny explained.

"All right then. Where's his office located?"

"Fortunately for us, it's on the first floor. If I'm not mistaken, it's the eighth room on the right side, so let's see then."

They counted to eight and found Dr. Jay's office and, surprisingly there weren't any zombies on the first floor, yet. Johnny knocked on the door once. No answer, the door was locked. He knocked again and again but to no avail.

"Uh, Jay, are you there? It's Johnny, your pal, I've come to get you."

Now some sounds could be heard from the inside, and then again silence.

"Man, come on, let's just find some medicine or something, we're sitting ducks here", Jeff said.

"No, let's wait for a minute or two. Maybe he's still in there", Johnny replied.

Only a few second after Johnny said those words, some clicking could be heard as the door was being unlocked.

When it opened, Jay was behind them. His current appearance was rather scruffy, as his face was kinda dirty just like his hair, which was unkempt and it fell down to his shoulders. The Doctor's eyes were also bloody, and he had eye bags, either from not sleeping or overworking.

"Jesus Jay, you look like shit", Johnny stared at him with his mouth wide open.

"Just come in, hurry", Jay said, as they all entered his office and Jay locked the door again.

"Are you okay man? Were you bitten?", Johnny asked his old friend as he put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm good man, and no, I wasn't bitten. It's just that I haven't had much of sleep since all this started, so that's why I look like hammered shit", Jay chuckled.

"Okay, but what about everyone else? The rest of the doctors, the nurses? Don't tell me..."

"Unfortunately, yes. Everyone is either dead or also dead but at the same time walking and eating other living beings. I tried to understand what this infection, disease is all about, but I haven't gotten to any logical conclusion, no one has so far. I have been in my office since the hospital has fallen, sometimes I sneak out of here to get some food from the cafeteria and get back here. It was exhausting but I did manage to survive, so far."

"I applaud you doc, you survived longer than some far competent people", Jeff grinned.

"Okay, Jay, listen now. Long story short, me and my group are now stuck in the Mall, I don't know for how long, and there are two girls who are really, really sick and they need your help. They probably need antibiotics or something like that", Johnny said.

"How old are they and have you checked for bites?"

"They're clean, their older sister checked them, otherwise they would have already turned. Anyways, the older one is fifteen, the younger is six."

"Yes, I see. Well then, let's go, before it's dark", Jay said as he grabbed his medical bag, which had a first aid kit in it and unlocked the door.

"I'll lead the way, come on", Johnny said as he stepped outside the hospital.

"Woah, hold on. You haven't even introduced me with your friend", Jeff laughed.

"Geez. Jeff, this is Jay, he's a doctor. Jay, this is Jeff, he's a soldier. Can we go now", Johnny said, visibly irritated.

"Sure man, lighten up a bit", Jeff smirked.

Unlike the way here, the group didn't run, instead they carefully sneaked towards the Mall, because now they had a doctor, who wasn't at full strength, and was carring a bag of medical supplies with him. Still, they managed to go past the undead after approximately half an hour.

"Well, here we are, the Royal Woods Mall and our temporary home", Johnny said.

"Damn, that's a lot of infected, how did you manage to get out?", Jay asked in awe.

"You see those...parachutes? Never mind", Jeff pointed upwards with his right index finger, but the two parachutes were gone as they were probably trampled over by the vast herd of the infected.

"So, any plans on how we are going to get there without opening the doors and letting them all in?", Jay asked.

"Have any of you ever watched any zombie movies?", Johnny asked them.

"Not really."

"I tried but I fell asleep after some minutes, that genre just isn't for me. And now it's happening in the real life, the irony."

"Well, you see, we are now at the south side of the Mall, the back side. And at the back side of the building, there's a fire escape, that leads to the roof. We can go through the there to enter the Mall", Johnny said.

"Okay, but how are we gonna get through these guys? You can't mean to fight them all, can you?", Jeff was confused.

"Of course not, that's why I asked you if you have watched any zombie movies. You see, the infected, they aren't going to fight themselves, unless for food, but even that's very rare."

"That's interesting to know, but what does it have to do with us getting to the Mall?"

"It's simple. We tear open an infected man, cover ourselves in their guts and slowly pass through the herd, and one by one climb up the stairs. Sounds like a plan, right?", Johnny smiled.

"That's some crazy shit but I agree, I don't see how we'll enter any other way", Jeff nodded.

"What about my bag? I can't just normally carry it, they'll recognize that something is wrong", Jay said.

"Hang it around your shoulder, and then we'll see how to get it up the stairs, for now we have to find a zombie to do what must be done", Johnny said.

"There is one", Jeff pointed to a zombie that was pinned beneath a crashed car some few meters away from them.

Johnny found a big rock and threw it at the zombie's head, killing it. Then, he used the broken glass from the car and cut open his stomach. He spread it with his hands and started to smear the blood all around him, Jeff and Jay soon joined him. Also, they separated the intestines into three parts and each put it around their necks.

"Fucking hell, this stinks worse than my shit when I have diarrhea", Jeff chuckled while pinching his nose.

"Just breath with your mouths. Jay, will we get infected by this shit?", Johnny was curious.

"Well, the virus only works when it get's mixed with your blood, so just try not to cut or scratch yourself on something and you'll be fine", Jay replied.

"Okay then, here we go. Remember, walk like them, it resembles limping, stay together, and if you have to talk, only in whispers, and short sentences. Let's go", Johnny ordered them.

Step by step, limp by limp, the group of three slowly reached the herd. And now came the hardest part, walking in-between beasts, monsters that could eat them all alive if they find out that these three are still normal humans. Their heartbeats were getting louder and louder, but they managed to keep their composure, until finally they had reached the wall of the back side of the Mall and the fire escape. Luckily for them, the the lowest of the stairs was on the ground so they only had to climb up and they would be safe. Emphasis on 'only'.

"Jeff...go...first...", Johnny whispered, taking pauses in-between, not to attract any unnecessary attention.

Jeff slowly walked towards the first ladder and quickly climbed over and towards the roof and dissappeared from Johnny's and Jay's sight.

The zombies reacted to it by growling and targeting the ladder but they quickly gave up when he left upstairs.

"Throw...bag...up...then...go...", Johnny once again whispered, now to Jay.

Jay took a deep breath and threw the bag up the ladder and quickly climbed up, grabbed his bag and followed up Jeff's footsteps. Again, the infected tried to climb up the ladder, but since they're incompetent for that, stopped after a few moments.

Now it's my turn, Johnny thought to himself. He slowly approached the ladder and climbed up, as quickly as he could.

"Sorry guys, but I'm gonna live a bit more", Johnny mockingly said as he blew a kiss towards the vast horde of the undead. They could just growl at him but that's it.

"I can't believe what we had just done, that was some crazy shit man", Jeff laughed.

"Yeah, it was crazy", Jay replied.

"Well, we made it out of there alive. We stink a little but that's the least of our problems now, let's clean ourselves a bit and then we'll continue", Johnny said as they went to the second floor of the Mall.

After cleaning themselves up, they had no choice but to change their clothes, since they were permanently damaged by the intestines of that infected man trapped under the car. They went to the clothes store to find something new to wear.

Despite the stores being mostly raided, the three men still managed to find something for themselves. Jay found a white shirt with buttons and long sleeves and blue jeans. Jeff chose yellow cargo pants, a green t-shirt and a black trench coat. Johnny changed his police outfit with black jeans, a blue shirt with long sleeves and a suede leather jacket, with fur inside and a fur collar.

After re-dressing, they went to the mattress store, where the group slept, as it had enough mattresses for everyone to sleep. But currently, only Luna and Lola were there, laying sick, while Lori was watching over them.

"Hey Lori, we're back", Johnny said while waving at her.

"Oh you're here, you came faster than I thought you would. Did you bring the doctor, and what's with the outfits, trying some new fashion?", Lori giggled.

"We had some difficulties on the way here but that doesn't matter now. Jay is gonna check on Luna and Lola."

Jay stepped forward and took a look upon the two girls. Their faces were yellowish in collor, and they were shaking nearly all the time from the cold.

"Don't worry this is nothing serious, just give them this ibuprofen with water every three hours and they'll be as good as new in a day or two."

"Doctor, do you know what's the reason for this, it just suddenly happened, until now they were healthy just like the rest of us", Lori asked.

"Most likely from accumulated stress or some emotional loss, I assume that during these several days since the start of the infection, they had suffered some trauma, right?", Jay asked.

"Yeah, just like all of us", Johnny sighed.

"Well, thank you doctor very much, I'll keep that in mind. Now you three can go and relax, you have earned it", Lori thanked them as Jay gave her the pills.

"Hell yeah, let's go eat something with some cold beer", Jeff said as he went to the food store. Johnny and Jay immediately followed him.

Several hourse had passed since then, and night had fallen. Most of the group members were asleep with only a few of them still awake, doing various things around the Mall.

Jordan was sitting on a bench on the second floor she heard someone climbing up the stairs from the first floor.

"Hey Jordan, what's up?", Jordan froze the instant she heard that familiar voice. It was Lincoln.

"Oh, h-h-hey L-Lincoln, nothing, the same as u-usual. How are you doing?", Jordan answered, somehow connecting the words together.

"Oh, I'm fine, great actually. You see , we never had a chance to talk since all this started and that's kinda sad since we were really good friends. Let's try and catch up, shall we?", Lincoln said with an artificial smile that creeped Jordan out like nothing before, as he sat by her side.

"O-okay."

"So, how's Chandler? I hadn't talked with him for a while, it's same case like with you, and makes me sad, you know?", Lincoln said with a sad expression.

Please don't mention anything about Lana, please, Jordan though to herself.

"He's fine too, thanks."

"I have to go to the bathroom but before that, I have to ask you something. Can you tell Chandler to come to the roof now, I now that it's dark now and Johnny wouldn't like it very much but it's something urgent that can't wait, can you do that for me, please?", Lincoln winked at her as he went to the bathroom.

Oh shit, he's onto us now but I have to find Chandler and warn him, Jordan whispered, while still shaking. Was it possible for a boy her age to scare her that much?

She rushed to the first floor and found Chandler reading some comics in the comic store.

"Chandler, he talked to me now, he knows for sure, he asked for you, he...", Jordan stopped to catch her breath.

"Woah, woah, Jordan calm down, what happened", Chandler threw the comic away and rushed to Jordan to hug her.

"Lincoln just talked to me and he, he wants to see you at the roof, now, when it's dark outside, don't you understand what that means? We have to tell the cop or the soldier, now, before he hurts us", Jordan said in panic.

"Why the fuck would I do that? You think I'm scared of that little shit, huh? I have to go upstairs and show him that we are not afraid of him or anyone else, I don't need anyone's protection. I'm going on the roof and you can't stop me", Chandler said as he went to the roof.

"If I can't stop you, then I'm going with you", Jordan said as she followed him.

Lincoln left the bathroom, and made his way towards the roof.

The night outside was not that dark, so Lincoln clearly recognized Chandler and Jordan standing near the southern edge of the roof. He started to walk towards them until there was only a few meters apart between them.

"Hey, Lincoln, 'sup", Chandler smirked.

"You know the reason why you're here Chandler, don't you?", Lincoln asked, with a grim expression. He wasn't really in a mood for jokes.

"I think I know, it involves one of your sisters, right? Can you remind me, I'm kinda forgetful", Chandler grinned.

"Well, you pushed Lana, my younger sister, out of the way so that you can get your ass and your girlfriend's over to the bus, therefore risking my younger sister's life. I think that's what happened, and that's what I saw", Lincoln still kept his serious face.

"Oh, now I remember, that insignificant kid with those ugly pigtails? Sorry Linc, but my life and my girlfriend's life is more important than hers or anybody else's. It's just the way it is, man, you have to understand it. You would have done the same, believe me."

"Fuck you Chandler, and you too Jordan. I really liked you guys, you were good friends to me, and I thought that you were a cute couple, but right now, I just want both of you to die in the most horrible way possible, will that be possible", Lincoln's serious expression now changed to a devilish grin.

Lincoln took a step forward.

"Lincoln, if you want to fight me, then fine, but don't hurt Jordan, please. Honey, just get away a few meters, so you don't get caught in."

"Chandler, Lincoln, please stop this, this isn't gonna end well", Jordan said as she started to cry.

"Don't worry, sweetheart this is just an exhibition match, right Linc? Nobody is actually gonna die", Chandler chuckled. But what happened next, was something that neither Chandler nor Jordan expected.

Like a wild beast, Lincoln growled and leaped towards Chandler, grabbing him by his collar and slamming at the edge of the roof, with his head hanging out.

"Linc, just c-calm, d-down, okay man, you're n-n-n-ot thinking rationally", Chandler said as shivers went down his spine and the rest of his body, he started to shake as a sudden cold enveloped him.

That anger, hatred, fury, resentment in Lincoln's eyes scared both Chandler and his girlfriend more than any of the infected had so far. But, Chandler's eyes grew even wider when Lincoln wrapped his hands around his throat and started to squeeze, stronger and stronger.

Lincoln was extremely motivated with a murderous intent and a strong desire to kill Chandler, so adrenaline was fueling him, making him much more stronger than usual. In this state, based on his raw strength, it seemed like he would pose a serious threat even to his hyperactive older sister Lynn.

As Chandler could feel the life being choked out of him and he slowly started to lose consciousness, he felt Lincoln's grip was getting weaker and weaker, he opened his eyes and saw Jordan biting on Lincoln's right ear and him backing away.

"Fuck, you fucking bitch", Lincoln screamed as he touched his ear. It was bleeding from the deep bite, and it hurt like hell.

"Stop it, both of you please...", Jordan said with her mouth full of Lincoln's blood from his right ear. The poor girl fell on her knees out of desperation, and started to weep.

Chandler also slowly got up, and saw Lincoln still on the ground, recuperating from his wound.

"You piece of shit...you fucked with the wrong person...", Chandler said as he went towards Lincoln.

He grabbed the white-haired boy and started to drag him towards the edge, when he finally arrived, he grabbed him by the back of his shirt and leaned him over the vast undead that senses blood and was eager to have some late-night dinner.

"Imagine Lincoln..imagine dying like this...getting torn apart, eaten alive by bunch of fucking monsters and nobody can hear your screams, while you live this world in agony...like the piece of shit you are...", Chandler spoke with pauses and even that barely, as his throat still hurt badly from Lincoln nearly choking him to death.

Am I really gonna die like this, while trying to avenge my sister? Am I that pathetic? Lincoln was lost in his thoughts and the pain from his ear, which he thought were his last until...

"Hey, what the hell is going on here?! What the...Lincoln?! Chandler?! Jordan?!", Clyde was horrified as he got to the roof.

Clyde, thank you brother, Lincoln thought.

Just as Chandler and Jordan were distracted, Lincoln got up, and with all his might, pushed Chandler down from the roof into the massive herd of the infected.

"Fuck you Chandler, burn in hell forever!", Lincoln yelled, while starting to laugh maniacally.

"No...no...what did you do...", Jordan whispered as the broken girl went to the edge to see her boyfriend getting torn apart and eaten alive by the zombies.

"No, fuck, stop it, somebody help me, please...", were the last words that Chandler said or more precisely, screamed as piece by piece, he died in agonizing pain, ironically the same way he described Lincoln's would-be death.

"Jordan...I'm truly sorry...but no witnesses...", Lincoln whispered into her ear, with a devilish grin.

"What? Lincoln, please no, I tried to help him, you...", Jordan didn't even know what to say anymore, she forgot that Clyde was behind her back...

"It's simple, you fucked up my family, and you never, ever do that...maybe you won't learn from your mistakes but someone else will...if they're stupid enough as you and your idiotic boyfriend were...", Lincoln said as he pushed Jordan down the edge, just as he did with her boyfriend moments ago.

"No, please I don't want to die, not yet, please...", Jordan whispered as she felt someone bite down her throat, arms, legs, chest...every part of her body...until her soul finally left the poor girl's body who found herself at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people.

"Linclon? What the fuck did you do...", Clyde said quietly but Lincoln still managed to hear. As Lincoln came closer to his friend, he saw the boy's wounds on his ear.

"Fucking hell Lincoln, what happened to your ear? What is going on here?", Clyde asked Lincoln as tears started to roll down his face.

"It's over Clyde, bro, it's finally over. Thank you mate, you saved my life, I owe you one", Lincoln said with a genuine smile, the first in a while as he hugged the confused and emotional Clyde.

Lincoln Loud thought that it was over. But unfortunately for him and everyone else, this wasn't over, this wasn't the ending. Hell, this was just the beginning of something far more scarier than ever before, the calm before the storm and Lincoln Loud and his family and friends weren't ready for this. Everything was about to change, for the worse.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

That dreadful night had passed, and it was the morning now, but neither Lincoln nor Clyde got to sleep much after what happened last night. And how could they? Lincoln had just pushed two humans, a boy and a girl his age, his friends, to their deaths, all for revenge. Was it justified or not, only time is going to tell.

"Where are Chandler and Jordan?", asked Lynn as they were having breakfast in the food store.

"I think that they had already eaten and are on the second floor or somewhere chilling out", Lincoln said, while completely calm, which confused Clyde. Did he act like nothing happened last night?

"Oh, whatever then", Lynn said as she continued to eat alongside the rest of the group.

Even though the Mall was a big place, soon everyone started to get suspicious, Chandler and Jordan were nowhere to be found nor heard. Around noon, Johnny called everyone to have a meeting to resolve this mystery.

"Thanks everyone for coming, and I'm glad to see that you two are okay now", Johnny smiled as he pointed out at Luna and Lola, who were in a much better condition now.

"Well, let's get straight to the point. Does anyone know where Chandler and Jordan are? Nobody has seen them since last night, and I don't think that they had left the Mall, as it would be suicide. So, if anyone knows anything about their whereabouts, now is the time to talk", Johnny said as his expression changed from happy to serious in a second.

The rest of the group members started to exchange looks and whispers between themselves, but they all came to the same conclusion-nobody had seen them since last night.

"And? No one?", Johnny said, who by now was pretty much the de facto leader of the group.

"No, nobody has heard anything from them, this is really starting to get creppy now", Lori said, with visible worry.

"What do you think Lincoln? You have been very quiet so far, do you know anything about them? Come here, beside me", Johnny signaled towards him.

Lincoln instantly froze the moment the police officer mentioned his name. He didn't really think this through, what would happen if they find out. Ironically, he was now in a similar situation like Chandler and Jordan were, hiding a terrible secret from the rest of the group.

Lisa, Lola, Lucy, Lynn, Luna, Leni, Lori, Bobby, Clyde, Francisco, Fiona, Jeff and Jay were standing at the center of the first floor, Johnny was around ten meters away from them, near the front door where the infected were still banging against the glass, desperately trying to enter, while Lincoln was slowly walking towards Johnny. Every step echoed heavily in the eleven-year-old's ears, he felt like a prisoner on death row, going to his last sentence. And the truth wasn't really that far off.

He stopped just two meters away from the police officer who towered above him and looked him in the eyes. Johnny's eyes were full of concern and worry.

"So Lincoln, what can you tell me about Chandler and Jordan? Do you know what happened to them?", trying to sound as polite as possible but he was already slowly starting to assume the worst.

"Heh heh, well, how to explain this", Lincoln nervously said as he scratched his head.

"Now it all makes sense...", Lynn said out loud, which she didn't intend but now it too late.

"What?", Johnny asked as everyone turned their attention towards Lynn.

"Ever since we got here, Lincoln has been glancing at Chandler and Jordan, and looking at them with an angry expression. I don't know what's the reason but they seemed to be in a conflict", Lynn explained.

"Is that true Lincoln?", Johnny asked, as his expression was now changing from worried to angry.

"Yes and...", what now Lincoln? Should he just confess and hope for the best or...Lincoln spotted the same devilish grin that he did last night when he confronted to pair of Jordan and Chandler. Something inside Lincoln was once again starting to build up, some hidden fire or more like a demon, that was just waiting for a good moment to burst out in a fiery explosion and destroy everything in its path. This was gonna be fun.

"Actually, now I remember what happened to them exactly, you wanna hear it?", Lincoln smirked.

"Duh, Lame-o, that's why we're here after all, just spit it out already", Lynn said with annoyance.

"They are dead, eaten by the zombies, it all happened last night", Lincoln said while still keeping the creepy smile on his face.

"Wait, what the fuck, how do you know that?", Jeff asked. Everyone opened their mouths in shock.

"Well...", Lincoln tried to say but stopped, taunting the rest of the group.

"Lincoln, answer the fucking question!", Johnny yelled at him, for the first time showing aggression towards the Louds since meeting them, startling the rest of the group.

"I killed them, I pushed them off the edge from the edge and they got devoured by the zombies, and it was to fucking satisfying to watch, you wouldn't know", Lincoln calmly said as he started to laugh.

"No, no, this can't be, you're lying, you wouldn't do something like this, would you?", Lori said, as she felt tears falling down her face.

"Oh, you don't believe me? Then ask my best bro Clyde, he was there, he saw it with his own eyes, right Clyde?", Lincoln grinned as he pointed towards his friend, who completely lost himself when everyone started to stare at him.

"Is this true Clyde? Please just...", Lori asked, barely containing her tears.

Clyde took off his glasses with his left hand and swiped the two tears that were accumulating under his eyes with his right hand.

"It's true, I was on the roof last night. And, yes, Lincoln did push them into the zombies, and caused their death. They were fighting, Lincoln's right ear is injured, that's why he's wearing that knit cap in case you haven't noticed. What Lincoln did is horrible, no doubt, but do you wonder why he did that?", Clyde said in a serious tone, a tone that was alien to those who knew him. It was like an adult was speaking out of Clyde and not a nerdy eleven-year-old kid.

"I don't think that anything can justify murder!", Lynn angrily yelled.

"Really, nothing? Because Lincoln told me that he saw Chandler push Lana out of the way so that he can get to the bus along with his girlfriend Jordan because he was scared that there would not be place for the two of them. Pretty crazy, right? And who knows if he's telling the truth, maybe he made it all up to feel less guilty, but I trust him. He's my best friend, my brother that I never had and I'll believe him because that makes the most sense. That's all I'm going to say about this", Clyde said, putting his glasses back on and calmly continuing to stand in the line with the majority of the group while the rest stared at him in shock.

"Wow, just wow...", Jeff said.

"If that's true, then...", Lori was at a loss of words.

"Lincoln, take of your cap", Johnny said, seemingly not impressed by Clyde's confession.

Lincoln did so and everyone looked in disgust as his wound was starting to clot, but the bite mark was noticeable from Jordan's teeth.

"That needs to be cleaned and bandaged as soon as possible before it gets infected", Jay said with visible concern.

"I'm not much of a weakling doc, I can endure a little scratch", Lincoln grinned.

"It's not that...", Jay said quietly. Something was seriously wrong with this kid.

"I don't know what to say to all this, this is just too fucked up to deal with now. Lincoln, just for your safety and for the safety of the rest of us, I'm gonna lock you in a room until we see what's the truth and what's not", Johnny said, still showing no compassion for the white haired boy.

"Wait, what the hell? That little shit is the reason our sister may be dead and you are locking Lincoln up like an animal because he stood up for him self and his sisters?!", Lynn finally changed her opinion and was now feeling sorry for her little brother.

"Based on whose words? His best friend's? Ain't that just a little bias, just a little? And Lincoln doesn't seem very remorseful about it considering his psychopahic demeanor just now", Johnny rasped, as he was starting to get more and more irritated.

But, in a second, Lincoln grabbed Johnny's gun from his holster and pointed it at him.

"So, Mr. police officer, you don't trust me? What are we gonna do about, hmm?", Lincoln said.

"Kid, put down. You'll hurt someone or yourself", Johnny said as he took a step back.

The rest of the group was startled and also slowly started to retreat.

"Lincoln, stop this madness! Put the gun down!", Lori urger her younger brother.

"Come on, Lincoln, you're seriously injure your hands if you pull the trigger. You're still too young for that", Johnny said but now his anger was gone and he starting to get worried about the kid.

If Lynn could do it, so can I, Lincoln thought to himself. He pointed his gun at the main door where the zombies hungry for some human flesh were knocking on the glass.

No going back from this, Lincoln whispered as he pulled he trigger. And again. And again.

"Argh! Fuck!", Lincoln grunted as he fell back from the recoil of the gun. He felt like his arm was gonna explode and his shoulder was sore as hell.

"Lincoln! Why did you do that?! Let me see your arm", Johnny yelled as he rushed to the boy. The police officer carefully inspected his arm and Lincoln was still shaking from the impact.

"See...I can do it...just like Lynn...", Lincoln whispered as he grinned widely at him.

"Oh my God, look at that!", Lori screamed as she pointed at the front door with a horrified expression.

The door, that was made from thick glass, was already starting to crack under the sheer pressure form the infected that was trying to get inside. But now, as Lincoln shot three times at the door, the last bullet managed to penetrate the glass, and it was now starting to get cracked open. Its loud noises echoed through the entire first floor as the group watched in shock.

"Everyone, go upstairs, now! Jay, Jeff, and Bobby help me barricade the door, we can't let them get through, come on, move it!", Johnny yelled as he ran towards the door with the three former following him.

"You heard him, everyone up the stairs, it's not safe here", Lori ordered her younger siblings and the rest of the group. One by one, they went to the second floor and watched in horror down bellow.

"Shouldn't we help them?", Lynn asked.

"No, it's too dangerous. They'll take care of it...", Lori said, putting on a fake smile.

"Hopefully", Lucy whispered.

"Hold the door, come on, we can't let them in, there are children in here!", Johnny rasped.

"Johnny, my man, I don't think this is gonna work...", Jeff said as he put his hand on the police officer's shoulder.

"No...", Johnny whispered as he closed his eyes.

"Johnny! We've got to go, now!", Jeff screamed as the door now completely broke and the infected started to enter the mall.

"There's too many of them, we can't fight them all", Bobby said.

"Yeah, we gotta escape, come on", Johnny said as he twitched from the angry growls of the infected.

"Lincoln! Come on, up the stairs!", Bobby said to him. But the white haired boy was just sitting while still holding his right arm in pain and staring blankly at the floor.

"Just go...I'm fine here...", Lincoln whispered as he smiled.

"What...", Bobby tried to say but the the three other men already got to the second floor.

"Come on, Bobby, get up here!", Lori signaled to her boyfriend.

"But Lincoln...", Bobby said as he looked towards the boy with a sad expression.

"What is that idiot doing now?! Get up here, you retard!", Lynn angrily rasped.

"Maybe he should stay down there, considering what he did to those two kids", Fiona said.

"We-we don't know for sure, he was just talking nonsense...", Clyde clumsily said, trying to defend his best friend.

"I'll come and get him. Whatever he did, nobody deserved to die like that", Jeff said as he rushed downstairs.

"I'll help you!", Francisco pronounced as he joined him downstairs.

The zombies were now just a few meters away from Lincoln as he was readily preparing for the immient encounter.

"I deserve this, don't I? I killed two people, two of my friends, I deserve punishment, it's completely normal...", Lincoln whispered as he closed his eyes.

But suddenly a loud noise startled him out of his trance: it was Jeff kicking a zombie in the head while he was just inches away from biting Lincoln.

"Wha...?"

"Come on boy, your family waits, come o-", but Jeff didn't manage to finish his sentence as he felt an incredible pain on his right thigh. An infected bit down his leg as hard as he could as he let down his guard just for a moment. Several zombies soon jumped down on him and started to feast on his body.

The rest of the group watched in horror as the poor soldier was getting devoured alive by the rampaging horde of the undead.

"You two, get over here, now", Johnny yelled but he couldn't move down to help them. He just couldn't. He quickly glanced at the rest of the group and everyone was the same: stunned, frozen from fear and desperation, despite already surviving something like this, now it seemed like this was truly the end for them.

"Come on Linc, he's dead, we can't help him now, let's go", Francisco said as he grabbed Lincoln's arm and started to run towards the second floor with him.

They nearly got there until...

"Linc, watch out!", Francisco screamed as an Lincoln tripped over an infected that was crawling on the floor because his body was cut in half horizontally. Francisco helped Lincoln to get on his feet but several more zombies appeared and started to drag Francisco towards the horde.

"No...no...", Lincoln just whispered in horror as he tried to step forward but couldn't, his body didn't allow him.

One zombie bit Francisco in his neck, the other in his stomach, his legs, his arms...piece by piece, he was getting torn apart, either by teeth or claws, but he didn't scream or show any pain, he just stared at his girlfriend Lynn, as she read from his lips...

"I love you..."

Before Lynn even knew it, tears started to fall down her cheeks, and she started to shake uncontrollably. She tried to go down there but Johnny stopped her.

"Lynn, no...I'm sorry but it's too late now...", Johnny said.

Lynn just ignored and started to walk again, but Johnny elbowed her in the head, knocking her out.

"Sorry kid, this was the only solution", Johnny said as he picked her up.

"Wh-what now?", Lola said sobbing.

"Into the elevator, everyone. We'll be safe there", Johnny said.

Surprisingly, the elevator worked despite the ruckus all around. Since they came here, they didn't even use it as they didn't need to.

They entered to elevator, and managed to somehow squeeze in. The door closed.

"Good thing that we managed to fit in, right?", Clyde said with a smile trying to cheer up the group but to no avail.

"Wait, someone's missing!", Lori said in shock.

"Lincoln and Lisa...", Luna whispered.

When the group rushed to the elevator, Lisa, the smallest one, got pushed away and nearly fell down to the first floor, but managed to grab a hold on the ledge, albeit barely. Taking hold of the grip was hard as hell, especially for a kid like Lisa, even more so as she was the 'brain part' of the Loud family.

"Help me, someone, please...", the little girl whispered as she started to cry, not caring if someone saw or heard her.

As more and more infected entered the mall, Lincoln finally got up the stairs and arrived on the second floor, but a new shock follow: his little sister was clinging on the edge of the fence as she slowly started to lose her grip.

"No, Lisa", Lincoln said as he rushed to her side and managed to grab her arm just in time before she fell.

"Lincoln?", Lisa said as she stared at him with her tiny little eyes, since her glassed fell down and broke when the hit the ground.

"Lisa, just hold on...", Lincoln gasped in pain. He was barely holding her with his right hand, which was still in pain because of his incident with Johnny's gun.

"Lincoln? Lisa? You out there?", suddenly Johnny said from inside the elevator.

"You're inside?!", Lincoln yelled at them.

"Yeah, but this mechanism is fucked from the inside. I think it's going down and it's gonna open the door as we land on the first floor. Since there are infected down there, we're dead if that happens, so you have to open the door from the outside, that's the only way, hurry please!", Johnny desperatly explained.

What now? He had to make a decision.

"Lincoln, go help them, your arm is too weak to get me up, especially in this state", Lisa calmly said as the infected were waving their hands at them, growling and slowly starting to go to the second floor as the went to the stairs.

"But I can't let you go, two people already died because of me, I personally killed two more..."

"And many more will die if you don't open that door. Listen, Linc, brother, you and our sisters always said that I was too robotic, without feelings for our family, and that I didn't love you or show any emotions. Well, this is my gift to you, to my family. I give my life for you", Lisa said as she smiled.

"Lisa...", Lincoln grinded his teeth.

"Go save them, Linc. I know you can do that, you'll take care of you sisters, I'm sure of it. I love you big bro, I love you more than anything", Lisa said with the biggest and most genuine smile Lincoln had ever seen.

Lisa finally slipped from his weakened hand and fell down, hitting her head on the concrete floor, leaving her skull fractured and killing her on the spot. The hungry zombies jumped on her small body and started to feast on it. But, even then, her smile still stayed, as Lincoln watched in sorrow and anger.

"Lincoln, open the door we're all gonna fucking die!", Johnny yelled from the top of his lungs.

"Sorry Lisa, and thank you, I won't let you sacrifice go in vain", Lincoln whispered as snapped back to reality from Johnny's voice. He rushed to the elevator and stopped it from going down in the last second, while also opening the door.

As soon as the door opened, the group that was inside, spilled outside in an instant as they watched in horror as the infected were on the stairs and just mere meters away from them.

"Where is Lisa?", Lori asked.

"She's gone, she's gone...", Lincoln said, barely containing himself from bursting into tears.

"What?! How?!", Lori said in disbelief.

"On the roof, now!", Johnny yelled as the entire group quickly rushed to the roof, narrowly avoiding the roaring horde that was now swarming the second floor.

"And, what now? Are we gonna jump from here or what?", Bobby asked.

"The fire exit! We got up that way when we saved Jay, so we can also climb down, it's still functional, let's go", Johnny said as he went first. The rest of the group followed him.

"What about the infected?", Clyde asked.

"Look down there", Johnny smiled.

There were only several walkers down bellow, who were wandering around senselessly. Since they managed to broke in through the front door, the ring around the mall was finally broken, and so the back side was mostly clear of the zombies.

Soon, they managed to climb down there and started to run away.

"Wait, Fiona is missing!", Leni screamed.

"What? Where is she?", Johnny said as they all turned back, with the unconscious Lynn still on Johnny's back.

Fiona was still standing at the top of the roof, too scared to move.

"Fiona! Come on girl, we have to get out of here now!", Johnny yelled to her, attracting the attention of the infected that were around them.

"I-I'm afraid of heights...", Fiona whispered as she felt something behind her.

"No, argh!", the infected managed to get to the roof as the group was climbing down the stairs of the fire exit.

Fiona got pushed by the infected as he tried to bite her and fell down to her death, as her head got smashed on the hard concrete floor. Blood was splattered all around here, as the sound of her hitting the ground startled the rest of the group.

"Jesus fucking Christ!", Jay yelled in shock.

"Run, just keep running and don't stop at all costs!", Johnny said to the group.

"Where to?", Lori asked.

"Anywhere...anywhere but here...", Johnny sighed.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

"That building looks safe enough, I don't see any infected there", Jay exclaimed while pointing to a fairly tall building that was close to the mall.

"No, it's still too near to the mall, we have to get away from here", Johnny said as they were still running from the mall, with the large horde of the infected slowly following them.

"Well, where exactly? It looks like every damn building is swarming with the infected", Luna said frustratingly.

"What about the safe-zones? Is there any left that is still intact?", Lori asked.

"No, I don't think there are any...oh wait! The Middle-School! That one should probably still be left, hopefully", Johnny said, with a hint of hope behind his words.

"So, northwest from here, it's quite a walk", Bobby mumbled.

"Just keep following me and don't stop running at all costs, okay?", Johnny said.

"Okay, we can do this", Jay replied.

"Maybe Lana is there", Lola thought to herself.

The survivors kept running after Johnny who was carrying the unconscious Lynn on his back, carefully dodging the many infected on their way. On first glance, this would seem like madness, insanity, running around the streets with so many kids, risking all of their lives, but they had, in some twisted way, gotten used to it, somehow, so it wasn't completely strange to them.

One by one, they finally managed to get around the many corners and streets until the reached the Royal Woods Middle School. Luckily enough for them, there weren't any infected in the area and there was a somewhat weak fence around the school but it looked to be in a pretty good condition.

"So...what...now?", Lori barely managed to say as she was trying to catch her breath from all the runing the group just did.

"I'll...I'll go and check out to see if it's safe in there, you stay close to the fence just in case", Johnny said while panting as he slowly laid Lynn down to sit with her back on the fence. She was slowly starting to gain consciousness as Luna and Lola went to help her.

Johnny slowly dragged himself towards the front door as he took his gun from its holster and held it tightly in his hands. There was only one clip left and he had to make them count.

When the police officer finally approached the door, he stopped moving for a bit. Should he knock down and see if someone's there or just rush in and hope for the best? No, what if someone innocent was there, a civilian or a mother with her children, he would scare the crap out of them. Nice and easy, that was the best course.

And then he knocked on the door with the back of his gun. And again. And again.

When he prepared for a fourth time, he heard some voices and a gun cocking from the inside. Johnny instantly felt some needles pricking him from the inside of his body.

"Shit, not now, we don't need this now", Johnny whispered.

"Who is there, indentify yourself or I'll shoot!", a familiar voice yelled from the inside.

"Wolcroft?! Is that you?!", Johnny exclaimed in excitement.

"How do you...wait a second, I recognise that voice, you're that police guy from the High School, right?"

"Yeah, I am, can you please let us in, the infected broke into the mall where we were hiding and we're on the road again", Johnny pleaded.

"Is your entire group with you?"

"Well some have died but most of us are here."

"I see. Okay, come in, but make it quick and silent", Wolcroft warned.

Johnny signaled to the rest of his group and they entered the Middle School through the front door, one by one.

"Lincoln, Clyde! Good to see you!", Liam cheerfully exclaimed as he and Zach rushed towards them.

"Oh, hey guys, what's up", Clyde said with eyes sunken behind his glasses. He obviously wasn't hiding the hideous state the entire group was in.

"What happened, you don't look that good", Zach added.

Lola was excitedly looking around the hall but there was no trace of Lana.

"I had hoped she would be here...", the poor girl whispered as tears started to run down her face.

"Wait a second, where is Lisa?", Lori asked as she looked around.

Shit, Johnny thought.

"She didn't make it, she died. I tried to help her but it was too late. I''m sorry. But at least, I did manage to save you all", Lincoln replied, completely cool and calmly, like nothing had happened at all.

"What? No...", Lori silently said.

Jay bowed his head down, with most of the group members doing the same. Sobbing and weeping could be heard.

"This can't be true, right? Right?", Luna tearfully said.

"You bastard! This is all your fault! You are responsible for Lisa's and Francisco's death!", Lynn angrily screamed at her younger brother, whose eyes went wide open with shock as she lunged at him like a predator at a victim.

Lynn slammed Lincoln to the ground and punched him with her right hand clenched in a fist. His left cheek started to bleed. She hit him again, at the same spot. Then the thirteen-year-old girl hit him with her left fist. As she prepared to continue the beatdown, Johnny rushed to her side and grabbed her by the hair and pulled her aside. Everyone was frozen of fear from Lynn's fury. How could a girl her age be so scary?

"Let me go, I want to kill him!", Lynn screamed through her grinding teeth.

"This won't do us any good now, Lynn. Knock it off", Johnny said annoyingly as he furrowed his brows.

"But he..."

"I know what he did. But we don't have time for this bullshit now, there are more pressing matters at hand", Johnny said as he escorted Lynn to a nearby classroom on the first floor.

"Jay, Lucy, you will be with Lynn in this classroom and take care that she doesn't do anything crazy. Is that understood?", Johnny said to them with a commanding tone.

"Uh, okay", Jay replied, confused.

"I'll talk to her, we're roommates", Lucy said bluntly.

When the three of them entered the classroom, Johnny closed the door behind them and went back to the rest of the group, who were still mourning Lisa's death. Yet strangely, he and Lincoln didn't seem that much shaken by it. Were they...were they getting used to everyone dying around them? No, it's not that. Unlike the rest of their group, Johnny and Lincoln were the type to keep their sorrow inside themselves, not letting anyone see their emotions.

"Uh Lincoln, would you please follow me? Bobby and Lori, you too", Johnny said, breaking the sounds of sobbing and crying in the hall.

Lincoln went to his side immediately, while Lori and Bobby took their time. The four of them walked to the classroom that was opposite of the one that Lynn, Jay and Lucy were.

"Lincoln...I can't talk with you currently about all that has happened, I don't think I have the strength for that now. But, for your safety and for the safety of the entire group, you'll stay in this room, for a while, alone with your thoughts. Think really carefully about everything because when I come here again, we're gonna have a really serious talk", Johnny said with both concern and reprimanding.

"Okay, I can do that", Lincoln replied, completely calmly, as he entered the classroom stunning the police officer.

"The two of you will stand here, by the door, and will now allow him out no matter what. From time to time check on him, and if something unusual happens, find me", Johnny ordered Lori and Bobby. They just nodded in agreement.

Just as he tried to get back to the rest of the group, Private Wolcroft appeared, grabbing him by his hand and walking towards the fire exit.

"Man, what the hell is going on here, what happened?", Wolcroft asked him.

"It's a long story, really. Apparently the boy was responsible for the death of two other kids because they were fighting, and then an argument broke out when the infected entered the mall and we lost another four people, including his little sister. I don't know what's true or not anymore but I'm gonna have to talk first to his friend and I'll see what to do next", Johnny replied as he sighed.

"Damn, that's some fucked up shit. But if it turns out that he really did kill them, then I don't think that he can stay here with us, you know. I can't risk the entire group safety if he's that unstable, I hope you understand", Wolcroft explained.

"I see, I'll do everything in my might to prevent that, to find a peaceful solution, now if you'll excuse me", Johnny put a half-smile and started to walk back to the group. As he was walking, he could feel the soldier's eyes planted on him, on his back, but he didn't have time to deal with him now. Everything in due time.

Instead, he found Clyde was leaning against the wall, near the male bathroom. He took a deep breath and then went to meet the boy.

"Hey Clyde, how are you holding up", Johnny asked as he waved at him with a smile.

"Not so well, honestly. Lisa's death really shook me up, Linc's sisters are like mine sisters, it's like I lost a family member of my own", Clyde wasn't trying to hide his sadness from the police officer as his eyes were still noticeably red from mourning after Lisa.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at this moment but I wanted to talk about Lincoln and what happened last night, on the roof of the mall", Johnny saw no reason to talk around so he went straight to the subject.

"That...I really don't know what to say to that. I never saw Lincoln like that. He has been my best friend for years now, sure, he did get angry at his sisters, on others and even me sometimes, but never ever have I seen him like this. It felt like a completely different person, made of hatred and anger, just focused on destroying what was in front of him. For a second I thought that he was gonna attack me too, I never felt fear like that in my entire life. But thankfully, he calmed down when he saw me. In fact, I was the one who saved his life as it distracted the other two and gave Lincoln time to...well, gain the upper hand in their duel", Clyde said, as he had somehow calmed from before but still being carefuly not to be too loud so that the others can't hear.

"As I had feared, his rage got the better of him. But considering what that boy did, Lincoln's actions are somewhat understandable, not that I approve of them of course, but it would also be wrong to think that he did that for his own enjoyment and excitement. I'm going to have to talk to him and to assure the rest of the group not to view him as a threat."

"What about Lynn? You saw what she did to him and she'll probably try to do it again. I know her well, she never gives up, on anything", Clyde warned Johnny.

"I'll take care of her too, don't worry. I have dealt with worse cases", Johnny replied. Yes, he did, they were much older, but this was a thirteen-year-old girl they were talking about. He had to very, careful what he was saying to her.

"Thanks Clyde, that should be it, you can now go and rest or eat something, you deserve it", Johnny smiled again, as he tapped him on the shoulder and started to walk away.

"Johnny?"

"Yes, Clyde?"

"What happened to my parents, do you know?"

"Clyde maybe not now..."

"Please just tell me, I am prepared for what ever comes, I deserve to know at least."

Johnny turned around and looke at the boy with a sad expression.

"They died, unfortunately. I'm not gonna go in details, it'll only make you feel worse, but you have to know, they wanted the best for you. It's not their fault that they died, leaving you alone. The cruel world around them is to blame, so for their legacy and your sake, stay strong and keep standing. I will help you with that. Remember, hope never dies."

"Thanks Johnny. I assumed so but for it to be confirmed, finally puts my heart at ease. I think I'm gonna be alone for a while. Good luck with Lincoln and Lynn", Clyde put up a smile, whether it was fake or genuine, Johnny couldn't know but it did show one great, beautiful thing about the eleven-year-old boy: his selflessness. Despite just being informed that his parents died, he still think about his friends' state and cares about them, something that few adult people, let alone kids would be able to do. Lincoln is lucky to have such a friend, Johnny thought.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, mostly in silence though. There wasn't really much to be said. Lincoln, Lynn and Clyde barely said anything at all. Wolcroft was outside on guard duty until three in the morning then he Johnny would take over.

The rest of the group were sleeping. Well, most of them.

It was around midnight that Lynn slowly got up from her sleeping bag. Wolcroft and Huggins gave them each group member one, and Lynn was sleeping in the classroom that she spent her day in, along with Lucy. Doctor Jay slept outside the door. She carefully sneaked past both of them and saw Bobby and Lori sleeping just beside the door where Lincoln was stationed. Lynn opened the door very slowly, to make as less sound as possible and to prevent creaking from the wood. When she finally got in, she saw her younger brother sleeping on the ground, on his sleeping bag, right in the middle of the room.

Lynn took a few steps until she was only a few inches behind the sleeping Lincoln. She was looking down at him with both pity and anger.

"Lincoln, I don't know if you're asleep or not, but I'll say this anyway. I'm not gonna hurt, you don't have to be scared. I understand, this is not the situation for in-fighting, but know this. Lisa's and Franciso's deaths are on your hands, they will rest on your consciousness, forever. You're gonna have to live with that burden until you die, which I hope will be sooner then later. From this day on, you and I are not related anymore, I don't have a brother anymore. You have lost another sister Lincoln Loud, try not to lose the rest of them", Lynn whispered to him as she lowered her head so that he could 'hear' her, fighting back a single tear that was forming in her eyes, but she managed to overpower it. She then swiftly turned around and went back to her sleeping spot, seemingly satisfied with what she had just done.

To his horror, Lincoln was not asleep. He was fully awake and he had heard it all. He wished that he was asleep now, deep is dreams that were better than this sorrowful reality. Or maybe dead would be even better than being asleep. One by one, tears started to swarm his face, his eyes getting red. In the span of several days, two of his sisters were dead, two were missing, and one had just erased him from her memory, officially ending any sort of connection between them. He lost basically half of his sisters, and he could do nothing to stop it. Maybe he could, but he was too incompetent, too fragile, too weak to save them. Why? Why? Why? Does the world really hate him that much? No, he can't just give up, he still has people that care about him, he has to stay strong for them. His best friend Clyde, the rest of his sisters, his other friends, Johnny, the man who has kept them alive for so long, his girlfriend Ronnie Anne... oh God, she was missing too, just like Lana and Lily. Lily...Mom and Dad... did he really forget about them in these days? Was this all too much for a boy of his age to handle? Lincoln tightened his left fist while wiping the tears of his face with his right. I will not give up, no matter what, Lincoln decided. Whatever the world throws at me, I'll return it, twice, whatever the cost, all for the people I love.

Outside the school, a tall, well-built man, with blonde hair, was spying at the front door, where Wolcroft was keeping guard.

"So, what do you think boss? Should we?", another man asked the blonde man, this one was shorter, with crooked teeth, some of them broken, the top of his head was bald, with some brown hair around his head and with a sinister and look on his face.

"I think now is the time", the blonde man grinned.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

The blonde man was still staring at the soldier who was sitting on a chair in front of the school, trying hard not to fall asleep. This particular night was darker than usual as the moon was covered by clouds and a cold wind was breezing around, pricking their cheeks like a pincer.

"Joe, that guy looks like he is nearly asleep. We'll wait a bit to see if that'll come to fruition", the blonde man whispered to the shorter man beside him, who, with his dirty face, was nearly unrecognizable in the dark night.

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to eat somethin' fresh for a change, Boss", Joe rasped, with spit spraying from his mouth between his broken and missing teeth.

"Speak quietly, you fool, or you won't eat anything at all tonight", the blonde man whispered with anger in his tone while wiping his face with his sleeve.

After a minute or two, it looked like Wolcroft was completely asleep. A faint sound of snoring could even be heard.

"Boss, what about now? Should I go and check?", Joe whispered with his pale blue eyes glittering in the darkness.

"All right, but be silent. One loud sound and you'll blow our cover", the man referred to as 'Boss' calmly whispered. Joe nodded.

Slowly he started to walk on his tiptoes, making almost no sound. The street in front of him was surprisingly clear considering what was happening in the city now. It was presumably cleaned by the group members from the school, Joe deduced.

The sight of a grown man such as Joe walking on his fingers and trying to be silent amused the Boss to no end and he couldn't but smirk and try to hide his laugh as he didn't want to blow his cover.

However, the cartoonish walk that Joe took seemed to prove most effective, as he approached Wolcroft and was now standing just around two meters away from him. He could clearly hear him snoring now and there was no doubt that he was deep in his dreams now. Joe turned around and gave a thumbs up and a supressed whistle to his Boss.

The blonde haired man noded, and slowly started to walk towards them.

When he finally reached them, Joe asked him if he could kill the soldier.

"I have a better idea, Joe. Let's leave him alive so that he can ponder his mistakes as we were able to walk past him and steal his supplies. What'd you say?", the Boss whispered, smiling. Smiles were usually a sign of happines and a good sight to see, but this man's smile was one of the most terrifying things that a human being could produce.

"Boss, I swear, you are more vile than I could ever hope to be", Joe grinned.

As the Boss put his hand on the door knob, he realized that it was locked. He glanced at Joe, who nodded and started to look around Wolcroft for a key.

After some inspecting, Joe finally managed to locate the key. It was hanging from the soldier's belt, upside down, and it was attached pretty clumsily. Slowly grabbing it with his right thumb and index finger, he ripped the key apart from the belt, giving it to the blonde haired man, who nodded in approval.

The blonde man unlocked the door carefully, glancing at Wolcroft as he didn't want to wake him up. The door was slowly opened and both he and Joe entered the school, with satisfying looks on their faces.

"Look at that Boss, fresh food", Joe whispered as he was hungrily eyeing towards the table at the left side of the hall which was full with canned food and bottles of water.

"Before we feast...should we go and kill someone? I haven't killed anyone in like, two or three days, I'm getting kinda thirsty for blood...", the Boss whispered in a calm voice as he nervously scratched his neck. Joe grinned.

"Boss, there seems to be more people, much more people. For the past few days, there were only two girls, two boys, one old guy and that soldier. Who's gonna bite the dust today, Boss?"

The Boss quickly glanced at the classrooms and only two sounds could be heard: loud snoring or breathing. All the group members were sound asleep.

The two men quietly walked to the third classroom on the left side, where Zach, Giggles, Liam and Tabby were sleeping. Joe slowly opened the door, being careful not to make any loud sounds. He nodded to his Boss.

Just like outside, the interior of the school was also very dark, and it was a real miracle that the two intruders didn't trip on something as they were entering the room.

"You take the girls, I'll have some fun with the boys", the blonde man grinned as he pulled his hunting knife from his pocket. Joe did the same.

The Boss smiled as he pushed the knife into Liam's heart. The boy's body flinched a little and that was it, a human life was gone forever, just like that. Taken by some random man, that Liam had never even seen during his lifetime.

Joe didn't wait too long as he did the same to Giggles. The deranged man was struggling so hard not to burst out laughing at the vile act he just commited. He put his left hand over his mouth and some suppressed laughter could be heard.

Then, Joe and his Boss turned their attention to the remaining two kids, and did the same thing they did to their friends-a quick stab in the heart that ended their lives forever.

"Oh...you were such a nice little girl...it's a shame that you have to leave this world so soon...", Joe whispered as he put right middle finger on Tabby's forehead and started to gently massage it. He let out a small moan.

However, to their horror, a door suddenly got opened. At first, both of them froze and stared at each other for a second or two. Then, the Boss approached the door quietly and saw a little girl clumsily dragging her legs across the floor towards the bathroom that was on the right.

It was Lola. She walked right past him, but didn't realize that he was there. She must be either sleepwalking or is half-asleep, the blonde haired man deduced.

"Grab the food Joe, and I'll get the girl. Let's get out of here", the Boss said to his subordinate. He grinned and nodded.

The Boss swiftly grabbed Lola and started to leave the school along with Joe who put several cans of food and bottles of clean water into his backpack which was in a horrible state. It was a real miracle how it didn't collapse from the weight of the supplies.

Walking on their tiptoes, and being unusually quiet for their size, the two finally sneaked out of the school with the half-asleep Lola who still wasn't aware of what was happening. They walked past Wolcroft, but as they grinned at one another, they stopped dead in their track when they heard the soldier behind them standing up.

"What the...is someone there...", Wolcroft grumbled, fresh out of sleep, as he narrowed his eyes to the two silhouettes that could be seen in front of him.

Without any thinking, Joe dropped the supplies, lunged at the soldier and swinged his right arm at his head, hitting him with his elbow, knocking him down to the ground, unconscious.

"Let's get the fuck out of here man", the Boss angrily whispered as Joe picked up the supplies and went with him in an unknown direction.

As the sun was slowly making its way towards the top of the sky, so did a violent scream wake up nearly everyone in the school.

Leni was frozen in place as she watched with horror in her eyes the four recently deceased Zach, Giggle, Liam and Tabby, walking towards her, now reanimated as zombies.

"What the fuck was that?!", Johnny yelled as he jumped to his feet and grabbed his knife and gun. The police officer quickly rushed to the hall and saw the scene with his own eyes.

"Leni, come here! Now!", Johnny yelled at her as he swiftly stabbed the four zombified kids in the head, one by one.

But the poor girl was still standing in the same spot, to scared to even cry. Soon after, the rest of the group members left their respective classrooms, and watched in horror at the corpses of the kids.

"Oh my God...", Huggins silently said as he looked away. Lori was comforting the visibly shaken Lori, Luna was looking with a sad expression, Lucy also looked sad (as much as her emotions allowed), Lynn looked more angry than sad as she tightened her right fist, Jay was slowly wiping away the tears from his cheeks, Bobby was saying something in Spanish with his eyes closed, presumably praying for them. The two who were most hurt by this, were of course, Lincoln and Clyde. Zach and Liam were two of their best friends along with Rusty and seeing them in this state, dead but alive in a twisted way, was a really harsh thing. Clyde was crying and barely managed to sustain his weeping while Lincoln was more concerned about avoiding eye contact with Lynn as it would be a horrible decision after what happened last night. And only Lincoln and Lynn knew about that.

"Okay then, how the fuck did this happen? All four of them are stabbed in the heart, in the indentical spot, with what looks like a knife. Did someone stalk us? Entering here while we were all asleep..."

"Wait, what about Wolcroft? He was on guard tonight, right?", Jay said with a confused look on his face.

"I'm, uh, right here, damn my head...", Wolcroft slowly entered the hall as he was rubbing his head where Joe hit him with his elbow.

"What the hell? Look at this shit, did you let anyone in here last night?! Weren't you supposed to be guarding the entrance?!", Johnny rasped at the soldier, making everyone twitch briefly, especially Wolcroft, who was still feeling pain in his head.

"I don't know man, I just woke up, looks like something hit me in the head...Oh fuck, what the hell!", the soldier screamed as he took a step back, staring at the bodies.

"Looks like someone entered the school and killed them, but how did they manage to get past you, I wonder?", Johnny said with a threatening tone in his voice.

"Wait, you don't actually think that I let them in?! I know it's my fault, and I feel sorry for them, but I could have also died, yet I'm still alive. Why? Why did the leave me alive?", Wolcroft sighed.

"That makes sense Johnny, the-", but as doctor Jay was trying to calm the situation down, a sudden scream sent chills down everyone's spines.

"Lola, oh fuck, Lola is missing, she's not here, fuck!", Bobby yelled as he checked her room again. Nobody even managed to realize until now with all the stuff that was currently happening.

"No fucking way, they killed these four and kidnapped Lola?! What the fuck is their problem?", Lynn angrily said through her teeth.

"Lana is already missing and now Lola...our family is falling apart...", Luna whispered. The rest of the group members exchanged worrying looks.

"They also took our supplies, look at the tables, a large amount of the food and water is missing. There's no way this was just a random attack. It was planned ahead, I'm sure of it", Jay said as he pointed at the tables with the supplies in the main hall.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I did actually see some guy looking at the school from a distance but I though it was just my imagination after all", Huggins added in.

"You didn't think that's vital information so you didn't share it with us?! What the hell?! It's most likely that the group from that man attacked us, God only knows how long they stalked this school and analysed every single fucking aspect here, and finally catching a moment to attack and steal our supplies and worse. I would have expected this from a kid or someone younger, but not from you old man", Johnny said, his tone mixed with anger and dissapointment. Huggins just sadly looked at the floor, both his and Wolcroft's face was swarmed by guilt.

"We don't have time to fight between us now and determine who's wrong or not. We need to act now, or we'll never see Lola again", Lynn said as she stepped up to stand right next to Johnny and Wolcroft.

"Agreed. We must do something", Bobby nodded.

"But what?", Lori added, trying to keep her cool after hearing what happened to Lola.

"We're going after them", Johnny said shortly.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"But that's too dangerous, we know virtually nothing about them, it would be like walking into certain death", Jay said, with obvious concern in his voice.

"Yeah, no shit, but we can't wait for them to attack again. They have a hostage, a six-year-old girl, who happens to be the sister of several of the kids here. I promised that I would protect them and I will. It is too risky, I know, but we have to take the risk. They fucked with the wrong people and now they're going to pay for it."


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Johnny was facing the opposite direction of the group but he could still feel their eyes on them. That was a bold statement that he just made and he had to face the group on that.

"I mean, I admire your fearlessness, but do we really have the strength to go outside and attack what the hell took the girl? There could one, five or hundred of them. We're risking it all by going in randomly. Maybe we should send someone to scout first?", Huggins said as he approached Johnny.

The old man is right, Johnny thought. That was the biggest problem, not knowing the strength of the enemy.

"Well, I guess we can organize both a recon and a rescue squad, but the most important thing is that we have do it as fast as possible. The sooner we depart, the more chance Lola will have of being alive...", Johnny said as he turned around towards the group.

He looked left and right to analyze the group carefully, to choose who to take to search for Lola. The choice looked pretty simple.

"Wolcroft and Lincoln, you'll come with me. Huggins, Jay and Bobby, you'll stay here and guard the school in case of another attack", Johnny sighed.

The rest of the group exchanged confused looks.

"You're taking Lincoln with you? Why's that?", Jay asked while putting his hand on Lincoln's shoulder.

"This is his sister we're talking about. He's already lost two sisters, three are missing and not to count the parents. I know this looks ugly and shitty, but times like this force you to grow up faster than it's predicted, you know what I'm saying?", Johnny responded as he took a deep look at the boy.

"If Lincoln goes, then I'll go too. Lola's my sister as much as she's his and you're gonna have to tie me down if you don't want me to run after you", Lynn furrowed her brow as she crossed her arms.

Johnny turned towards her and smirked. It was a long time ago since he saw someone so determinant as the thirteen-year-old-girl that stood before him was.

Lincoln quickly glanced at his older sister only to receive a cold look of hatred, which reminded him of last night, probably the worst night of his entire life.

Very well then, I like your optimism. Grab your bat now. Lincoln, I'll give you my knife, just in case. Be ready in ten minutes near the front door, until then be sure to eat and drink something, we don't know how much this is gonna last. Go now.", Johnny ordered them as he went back to main hall to grab a can of beans for breakfast.

Ten minutes quickly passed by and the rescue team assembled at the front door. Johnny and Wolcroft were armed with their guns and whatever ammo they had left, Lynn had her lucky bat and Lincoln held the knife that Johnny had given him.

 _Hopefully I won't have to use it,_ Lincoln thought.

"Okay then, we'll try and make this as quick possible. Bar the door behind us and don't let anyone in here until we return, not even if they beg you or have children, is that understood", Johnny rasped. Bobby and Huggins nodded.

The group of four stepped while Bobby and Huggins immediately shut the door down and barred the door.

"So, where to? We don't even have an idea where they could be hiding", Wolcroft said with a sad tone in his voice, as he knew that this was partially his fault too.

"I don't think that we're gonna wait for that long, look", Johnny said as he pointed to the several bottles of water that were laying down around fifty meters away from the school. The group quickly rushed to them.

"They must have dropped them in a hurry, I guess?", Wolcroft wondered.

"No, it's not that. Take a look again.", Lynn said as she pointed her finger at the bottles which looked like a botched attempt of an arrow.

"What the hell's that? It looks like and arrow or...", Wolcroft asked.

"It's a sign, they are pointing to their position", Johnny coldly stated.

"What do you mean? They did it on purpose?", Wolcroft scratched his head in confusion.

"Probably, this must be like a game to them. Fucking psychos. Actually, when I think about it, my friend Ryan, who stayed at the police station, did mention that a bus transporting convicts on death row was missing, presumably crashed due to the infection. And unfortunately, all signs lead me to believe that we are dealing with those prisoners...", Johnny calmly said as he took a deep breath.

Lincoln quickly glanced at Lynn, who was staring at Johnny with a visible look of concern on her face. Lincoln too, could feel it now, the growing anxiety coming all the way from his feet and up to the top of his head, his emotions were now jumping between anger and sadness. If he lost Lola too, then...

"All right, let's go now. Follow and keep a low profile, we'll try to go from cover to cover, use anything you can, a trashcan, a mailbox, whatever.", Johnny said as he signaled with his right hand towards east, where the clumsy arrow of bottles pointed.

The group slowly advanced east of the middle school, encountering the infected but managing to successfully evade them. But the thing that confused them the most is relatively low number of the zombies they encountered. _Other survivors must have taken care of them,_ Johnny concluded.

Several minutes later, the group came to a dead end as several ruined buildings stopped them from progressing any further. Wolcroft and Lynn exchanged worrying looks, while both Johnny and Lincoln knew that something was feeling off here. Wolcroft and Johnny pulled out their guns, just in case, while Lynn hardened her grip on her baseball bat. Lincoln also followed suit and pulled out the knife that Johnny gave him.

"Lola's tiara! Look!", suddenly Lincoln shouted as he ran towards his younger sister's headwear. It was lying about fifty in front of the biggest ruined building. Lincoln picked it up and it drew a big smile on his face.

"Wait, Lincoln, get back, this seems like a trap!", Johnny yelled. Lincoln glanced at him then started to run towards him.

"She must be near somewhere around here, this is a sign, I can feel it", Lincoln barely managed to contain his excitement.

"I'd like to believe that but this is too suspicious. Maybe we should-",

"Lincoln!", a high pitched voice shrieked around the four of them as they all looked in shock when Lola was walking towards them.

"Oh God, she's alive!", Wolcroft happily shouted. Johnny and Lynn smiled at one another.

Lincoln ran over to her side to hug his sister, barely containing his tears of happiness but just as he was about to wrap his arms around her, a gunshot froze them all in place.

A bullet hit Lola from behind right in the head, splattering blood all over her older brother as she fell onto him. Lincoln fell to his knees as Lola's lifeless body fell down, right into his arms. Lincoln's face was now full of tears, tears of sadness, as he looked at her face: she was still smiling. Not even the pain from the bullet could stop her from smiling at the sight of he older brother, as she called him, 'Linky'.

"I'm gonna fucking kill them all!", Lincoln screamed from the top of his lungs.

"What the fuck, killing a child like that...", Wolcroft whispered. Johnny and Lynn just stared at the scene that just unfolded in front of them.

"Drop those fucking weapons or the boy dies too", a grave voice rasped at them, causing the them all to snap out of their trance. They all dropped their respective weapons.

"As expected, our heroes have arrived to save the day, but they failed, sadly", someone sarcastically said from the front building, while some laughing could also be heard. Finally, some people stepped out from the building.

Joe and his Boss were the first to step out, each holding a gun and grinning. Then, a large African-American man, who was easily seven foot tall, stepped out, wearing a black jacket over a basketball jersey and blue jeans, and finally a much smaller man left the building after him, wearing a baseball cap, an army shirt which was sewn on many places.

"On your knees, now", the large rasped, with the group immediately listening, they didn't want to test this guy's patience. Lincoln was still holding Lola's body in his arms, but he had stopped crying.

"Sorry for your...sister, right? Well, it doesn't matter, she's fucking dead now", the Boss chuckled.

"Should we just kill them all?", the man in the baseball cap asked.

The Boss, seemingly ignoring his inferior, stepped towards Lincoln and ducked right in front of him.

"My name is Goke, pleased to meet you all. I wish that we didn't meet in circumstances like this but it is what it is. Anyway, the three of you come closer here, I want to take a better look at you all.", Goke smiled, which was a horrifying scene to witness.

The group members slowly got up and walked towards the four thugs and Lincoln. Johnny quickly glanced on his gun but knew that it was suicide to try anything here. Finally, they arrived and got on their knees, forming a line along with Lincoln.

Goke stared right at Lincoln and the boy returned the look. The first he noticed were Goke's eyes: his right eye was blue while his left eye was green. His blonde hair seemed dirty and greasy and unkept.

"Now, if you would kindly give me the rest of your supplies, I'll let the boy and girl go. For you two grown up farts, I might gonna need you for something", Goke grinned.

"Yeah, okay, just let the kids go, please", Johnny said, in desperation.

"Of course! A deal's a deal, right? What, do I really look like someone who could hurt a child?", Goke laughed with the rest of his men joining in laughter.

"Fuckers...", Lynn whispered.

"Who the fuck said that?!", Goke yelled. The group members froze.

"Who. The. Fuck. Said. That.", Goke said again more silently but also with a threatening voice.

 _He wasn't suppossed to hear this, now someone's gonna get hurt,_ Lynn instantly regretted her decision to cuss at them.

However, just as she opened her mouth, Lincoln raised his hand.

"I did it, I said that, you fucker.", Lincoln calmly said, with a murderous intent, looking straight in Goke's eyes.

Goke turned his attention to Lincoln and chuckled.

"And I thought that the girl said it. How stupid of me, right? Well, boy...wait, you didn't tell me your name, neither of you. And if we're gonna be great then we need to properly know each other, no?", Goke winked at Lincoln.

"I'm Johnny, the soldier is Wolcroft, the boy's Lincoln and the girl's name is Lynn, now please, let the kids go, and you can do whatever you want with us two adults", Johnny said, while glancing at Lola's corpse which now lay on the ground as Lincoln had lost his grip on her.

"Thank you Johnny, even though I was asking Lincoln. Tiny, please show Johnny what happens when people talk without permission.", Goke signaled to the big man, whose nickname was the most ironic thing in the world right now.

Tiny stepped up, swinging his huge right leg and kicking Johnny right across the face, causing him to fall back, while spitting some blood over his split lip. The rest of Johnny's group twitched at this terrible sight.

"Fucker", Tiny grunted.

"Now, back to our fearless boy hero, Lincoln, who was named after Abe Lincoln, right? Hah, I'm just joking, calm down. I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson, you know, because I can't really stand troubled youth, delinquents, however you want. But first let me ask you, is Lynn your sister, since the two of you kinda have some resemblance, or am I the only one who sees that resemblance.", Goke cheerfully said. Lincoln just absentmindedly nodded.

 _What is that idiot doing, he's gonna get himself killed! This is my fault and I should take full responsibility, but this creep said that he was gonna let us go,_ Lynn's was fighting with herself in her own mind what to do next.

"Ah, then I should make a compliment and say that your sister is a very cute, beautiful young girl, that's just waiting on her prince, no? Maybe I'm gonna be that prince-"

"If you touch her, I'm gonna fucking kill you, you understand me, stay away from her!", Lincoln yelled, his eyes full of anger and fury. Goke just smiled.

Johnny and Wolcroft glanced at each other, both mutually agreeing that they need to do something.

"No need to be so hostile Linc, here let me show you something", Goke grabbed Lincoln's knife that laid in front of him and Lola's corpse but held it in reverse.

"Now I'm gonna show you why it's not a good idea to speak without permission...", Goke coldly said as he swinged the knife at Lincoln and hitting him in the left eye with the handle of the knife. Lincoln screamed in pain and fell on his back.

"No, get away from him", Lynn screamed at lunged at Goke but Joe hit her in the head with back of his gun, temporarily knocking her out.

"Little bitch!", Joe rasped.

"Oh man, this is fucking exciting!", Goke moaned as he hit Lincoln in the left eyes again and again.

Johnny and Wolcroft just blankly staring at the mortifying scene that was unfolding before them. They wanted to move, to attack them, anything, but they just couldn't get up, at all. Was this genuine fear or something else?

Goke hit Lincoln several more times, finally stopping until his screams of agony ceased. Did he die? Goke didn't know nor did he care seemingly, as he was busy caressing his bulge in his pants, this horrible beating gave an erection which he didn't have in a long time.

Lincoln's left eye was now a beaten pulp, completely shut, black and purple in color, with some tints of dark blue, blood was around it and in the wound, the swelling was getting bigger and bigger, but Lincoln was still breathing though, causing Johnny and Wolcroft to sigh in slight relief.

"That was fucking awesome dude!", Goke shouted.

"I think that you may have overdone it a little, boss. I mean, he's just a kid afterall.", Al, the man with the baseball cap said.

"Boss! What is goi-", but the fifth man that left the main building stopped dead in his tracks. Johnny looked in horror.

"No, no fucking way...Ryan, what the fuck are you doing here? Please just don't tell that you work with this asshole here", Johnny said in disbelief.

"Johnny...but how...shit not now, boss we got zombies entering the building, the gunshot must have attracted them including all the voice you guys did", said Ryan, who was in his police uniform and stared right in Johnny.

This was worse than a nightmare for Johnny, first the girl he tried to save was dead, then the boy he took with him was beaten to near death and now his best friend was working for the people who did all the above. If he could just...

"Oh shit, here they come! Boss, we gotta get out of here, now!", Tiny yelled.

A large wave of zombies was bursting through the big building behind Ryan and the building to the right side of the group.

"Fucking hell, everyone with me!", Goke screamed as he ran towards the only building that wasn't overrun.

"What about them?", Joe asked as he quickly followed his leader.

"Fuck them, they're dead meat anyway, the infected freaks can eat them thus providing us a distraction", Goke grinned. Al, Tiny and Ryan followed them but not before Ryan glanced at Johnny with a sad expression.

"Thank God, he's still alive. Wolcroft grab Lynn and her bat, I'll take Lincoln and our guns, go now!", Johnny yelled as the infected creeped in closer.

Wolcroft swiftly grabbed Lynn, who was still unconscious, and her bat.

"Where to now?", Wolcroft panicked.

"Towards the school, go!", Johnny shouted while grabbing the heavily injured Lincoln, the two guns and his knife.

"This can't be the end of this...", Johnny whispered as he and Wolcroft ran desperatly towards the school with the huge horde of the undead on their tails.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

"How the fuck could that happen?! Killing a little girl in cold blood, just like that, in front of her brother and sister...", Wolcroft rasped furiously through his teeth as they ran away from the undead horde.

"Some people are just fucked in the head man, I saw a lot of fucked up shit in my life as a cop but never something like this", Johnny sighed.

"I can't even imagine the reactions when we get back, we couldn't save the girl and now her brother is also on the verge of dying..."

Johnny suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Lincoln, he completely forgot about him. _I was the one who took him to this dangerous mission and it's my fault that he got injured._

"Johnny, what the fuck?! Come on, we have to get back, those freaks could be following us right as we speak!", Wolcroft yelled.

Johnny shook his head and continued to run. Now was not the time to think, they have to get out of the open.

After some time of sprinting, Johnny Wolcroft finally managed to return to the middle school with the unconscious Lincoln and Lynn.

"Open the fucking door, it's me and Wolcroft!", Johnny yelled while slamming against the door with his fist several times.

"Okay, okay, calm down, we're on it", Bobby and Huggins could be heard saying as the removed the tables which were behind the door as they had barricaded it when the group left to save Lola.

After a few seconds, the door was finally open and the two men entered the school, immediately putting the two siblings on the table in the main hall.

"So, what happened, where's Lola?", Bobby asked as he went to Johnny and Wolcroft, while Huggins barricaded the door again.

"Jay, get over here, now!", Johnny yelled, seemingly ignoring Bobby.

"Wait, why-, of fuck!", Bobby took a step back when he saw Lincoln's horrible eye injury as it was getting bigger and bigger from the swelling.

"What's all the ruckus about? We have to stay quiet to not attract any attention", Jay said in an irritated voice as he came to the main hall.

"Lincoln's left eye, that bastard Goke nearly killed him but I think that he's still breathing", Johnny said to his doctor friend, visibly shaken.

"Oh good God, poor boy", Jay sighed as he gently lifted Lincoln and went with him to the school infirmary.

"Wait what about Lynn?", Bobby asked.

"She took a hit to the head from a gun handle, but I think that she'll be fine. I'll carry her to the infirmary just in case", Johnny said as he picked the girl and followed Jay to the infirmary.

"Give me ten minutes, I'll fix them both up, you got there and catch your breath for a bit, okay? We'll talk later", Jay said with visible concern on his face.

Johnny nodded and left the infirmary. His hands were still shaking, but that was the least of his concerns. The well-being of Lincoln and Lynn was the most important thing now.

"Are they back?", Luna said as she rushed to the main hall along with the rest of her sisters and Clyde.

"Where is Lola?", Leni added.

As Johnny entered the main hall again, Lori, Leni, Luna, Lucy, Clyde, Bobby and Huggins were all staring at him, looking for answers. All except Wolcroft, who just stared blankly at the floor.

"Now, tell us what happened, Johnny", Huggins asked calmly.

"So, we managed to find their hideout, it's east from here, maybe half an hour on foot. It's made of several ruined buildings, nothing spectacular. We did find Lola but as soon as Lincoln went to greet her, she was shot in the head from behind by their leader, Goke. All of them are escaped convicts who were on death row. There is also Joe, Al and Tiny, with Tiny being the biggest of them. And also my friend Ryan for whatever reason was there, but I still believe that he's not completely lost, no way in hell would he team up with someone like Goke, unless he had a really good reason. And after that, Goke attacked Lincoln and hit him in the left eye, severely injuring him. Lynn was knocked down for trying to help. Wolcroft and I were unable to do anything, they had us at gunpoint. And for the first time, I was lucky to see the infected as they saved us when they overran the buildings and gave us time to escape...I'm sorry for everything you have every right to be angry at us but we really did the best we could...let's just hope that Lincoln and Lynn will be alright...", Johnny calmly said, barely fighting back tears.

Everyone just blankly stared at him. After he stopped. Leni, Luna, Lucy and Clyde left the hall, still trying to translate what he had just said. When Johnny heard loud crying and screaming coming from their direction, he knew that they had realized.

"You fucking asshole! This is all your fault! Everything that has happened to us so far, was because of you! Luan, Lisa and now this shit! You took Lincoln and Lynn with you, and they nearly died, while Lola did die because you two are incompetent assholes! Fuck this, I'd-", but Lori didn't manage to finish her rant as he vomited on the floor, horrifying the rest of the group.

"Okay, you need to relax, let's go to somewhere quiet", Bobby said as he helped the shook Lori out of the main hall but not before whispering to Johnny:"Sorry mate, but she's very emotional in the last few days, always on the edge, you know." Johnny just nodded.

Now there were only Johnny, Wolcroft and Huggins in the main hall left. The silence continued for a few moments before finally Huggins started to speak:

"Son, where are they now, I mean the group of those thugs who attacked us."

"They escaped to the only building that wasn't still overran, but I doubt that that's the last that we have seen of 'em. They'll be back to finish the job, they know that we are vulnerable with the kids around.", Johnny replied.

"So what do you think we should do? Stay and fight, or run away as far as possible?", Wolcroft joined the conversation.

"Well, I'd prefer to escape but with the infected bulking around the school, that's highly unlikely. We can use them though, they serve as ring of protection if you think about it. Goke and his crew won't push through them all just to attack us plus they don't have any long range weapons to kill us from afar. They do have guns but I seriously doubt that they would waste it on chance. So let's just wait until tonight, as soon and Lincoln and Lynn are hopefully better, we'll discuss the future."

Just as Johnny finished, Jay left the infirmary, causing the three men to turn their attention to him.

"Lynn suffered a minor concussion, but she'll be alright. I put some ice to reduce the swelling and pain, and she was already waking up. Now for Lincoln", Jay paused as he took a deep breath,"I cleaned up his wound the best I could, reduced the swelling but that's all I could do. Sadly, there's no hope for his left eye, his orbital has been crushed, so if he, hopefully, wakes up, his left eye is permanently gone. Now, we only have to wait", Jay sighed.

"But...but...Lincoln will live, right?", Johnny quietly asked.

"To be honest with you, the fact that he's still alive is a miracle. I have seen adult men dying from injuries like that or staying in a coma for a long time, but he has managed to fight it well so far. IN the end, I'm optimistic that he'll wake up the same old Lincoln."

Johnny, Huggins and Wolcroft all sighed in relief. They definitely needed some good news in grim moments like these.

Lynn slowly opened her eyes, but not completely. The pain in her head was still high, as Jay recommended not getting up until later this day so that she could fully regain her strength. Lincoln was lying on the bed on the opposite side of the room. His breathing was slow but steady. _He's alive! That's what matters,_ Lynn thought. When she realized what horrible things she had said to him the last night, it sent shivers down her whole body. Hot tears were already filling her cheeks despite her best attempt to suppress them. What did she think by saying out loud her feelings, especially in that situation, her little brother nearly died as he saved her from a far worse fate… _Lincoln, please, you have to live, you have to wake up so that I can properly apologise…_

"Lori, baby, are you okay?! Should I call the doctor?!", Bobby panicked.

"No need, I'm good, it's just...Lola...", Lori gasped as a sharp pain suddenly pierced her stomach.

"Okay, that's it, I'm calling the doctor", Bobby frustrated, got up and went to the door of the classroom that he and Lori were in on the second floor.

"Bobby, please no", Lori begged.

"Look at you, you are paler than the walls here, I'm going to call Jay", Bobby concluded as he grabbed the door handle.

"I'm pregnant", Lori said bluntly.

Bobby stood petrified by the door.

"Wha...what?"

"Yeah, I had already vomited several times and I even did the pregnancy test...it was positive...", Lori gasped as the burst into tears.

Bobby released the door handle and quickly rushed to his girlfriend, hugging her as tightly as he could.

"But how, we didn't...", Bobby was at a loss words.

"After Lisa's death, when we got here. We were both at the edge and at that moment, we didn't care, we completely forgot about it. Not using a condom and so it happened..."

"Don't be afraid, I am here to protect you. Even if everyone else dies, you must live, you understand me? You and your...I mean our child will survive through all of this okay?", Bobby whispered to her as wiped the tears of her face.

"But we can't tell anyone, right? Not with all these psychos running around...", Lori whispered.

"Yeah, we're gonna wait after all of this passes, when we have settled somewhere safe, until then we'll keep it a secret, all right?", Bobby smiled as he gently played with her hair. Lori returned the smile and nodded.

Clyde was waiting so long to finally proclaim to his Lynn his true feelings, but it looks like he's gonna wait for a while longer. She was injured there along with Lincoln, maybe he could use this to his advantage...God, what is he thinking! A horrible idea, he'll wait until she's completely healed, both mentally and on the outside so that can finally confess.

"You okay Clyde?"

Clyde nearly suffered a heart attack, as he jumped from his chair from this intruder. It was Lucy.

"Lucy, not cool, not cool at all. I was just able to get myself used to the sound of the zombies outside but I don't think that I'll get used to your teleportations", Clyde chuckled as he picked his glasses from the floor.

"Sorry about that", Lucy said.

"How do you feel about Lola, I can't believe that she's just gone like that. What kind of monster would kill a child a like that?", Clyde said as he put his glasses on.

"I hate to say this but I was kinda prepared for this. I know it's a bad thing so say, but I always prepare for the worst, so that I can never be surprised", Lucy sighed.

"When will Lola return, I miss her so much! And Lana too!", Leni asked as she was pulling on Luna's sleeve.

"Uh, soon enough, they, uh, they will come but you have to be patient, or they won't come, you know?", Luna replied, putting on a fake smile.

"Oh, so I have to be patient? I can do that!", Leni cheerfully exclaimed as she hugged her younger sister.

 _Oh Leni, sometimes I wish I had your obliviousness,_ Luna thought.

The night came slowly, but surely as Lynn had woken up and was normally walking through the school, comforting her sisters. Jay had just entered the infirmary as Lincoln was slowly starting to open his right eye.

"Oh my goodness Lincoln you have woken up. Thank God", Jay said with a sigh.

"What...happened...", Lincoln said, with Jay barely hearing the words as the Lincoln was slowly starting to feel pain from his eye.

"You were attacked by that sick man Goke, but thankfully you survived. Johnny and Wolcroft were barely able to make it in time but they carried you and Lynn all the way back here."

"That means...Lola...", Lincoln gasped, already knowing the answer.

"I'm sorry for your younger sister Lincoln, she of all people didn't deserve such cruel fate. Here, I have prepared some painkillers for your injury", Jay said as he grabbed the combination of the painkillers he kept in a small orange bottle. He slowly put the pills in Lincoln's mouth and gave him some water, his throat was sore as hell after not drinking anything the whole day.

"Lynn...is she...okay...", Lincoln continued after taking the meds.

"Yeah, she is. She suffered a hit to the head when she tried to help you during Goke's assault on you, but she's in perfect condition now"

"I see..."

But unbeknownst to Johnny's group inside the middle school, there were hungry people, hungry for blood waiting outside. The infected had all but left the school's surrounding area, which meant that the school's 'ring of protection' was gone.

"Hey Boss, I have a feeling that there's gonna be a river of blood around here soon", Joe rasped, as he, Goke, Al, Tiny and Ryan were watching the school from behind a ruined car about hundred meters from the school.

"This is gonna be a fucking slaughter", Goke grinned as he wiped some blood from his face.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

"So, boss, are we going in in now or should we wait a little?", Joe whispered.

"Let's wait a bit, there are still infected around here, and I don't want them attacking us from the behind", Goke explained.

With the help of Jay, Lincoln slowly got up and started to walk. Soon after, he was able to walk freely without any help, astonishing the doctor with his fast recovery time.

"Say Johnny, do you see anything there, behind that ruined car or is that just my imagination?", Huggins asked as he pointed through the window. He and Johnny were guarding the front door.

"I don't know I can't really see anything, exc-", but Johnny's sentence was suddenly cut off when a bullet ran right next to his head, shattering the window that it passed through and making a loud crashing sound.

"What the fuck is this?!", Huggins screamed. Johnny snapped quickly and pulled out his gun.

"Shit, looks you were right old man, there is something out there."

The rest of the group, including Lincoln, quickly assembled in the main hall, having heard the shot.

"What's happening?!", several of the kids shouted in unison.

"Looks like Goke's group has returned, as I expected. All of you hide in the on the second floor in the classroom that's far right and opposite from here. Huggins, Wolcroft and Jay, you stay here, I need your help. We will fight back, no more running", Johnny ordered them and without any question, everyone that Johnny didn't name, went upstairs to hide. Only Johnny, Huggins, Wolcroft and Jay stayed in the main hall.

"Okay, so what's the plan?", Huggins started.

"Since I and Wolcroft are the only ones with a gun, we'll hide on the second floor and try and snipe them from above. Jay, here's my knife, while Huggins you can take Lynn's baseball bat, is that clear?", Johnny explained.

"I will be the bait, while I run in a zigzag manner, you try and shoot them", Huggins said, shocking the rest.

"You can't be serious!"

"Yes I am! I'm old and I don't have much time left, the least I can do is to help and bring those monsters down with me!", Huggins was decisive.

"Your call old man", Johnny just shrugged his shoulders.

Then, Johnny and Wolcroft went to the second floor, hiding behind the fence, with their guns ready in their hands. Huggins and Jay hid in one of the classrooms, barely opening the door, while the lights were turned off, to track the intruders down.

"What the fuck was that for you retard?!", Goke angrily hissed at Joe.

"Sorry boss, I just thought that I could hit him..."

"Please, do me a favour and never think again, fucking idiot. Well, no choice now, we're going in. Al, Tiny and Ryan, you go first. Me and Joe will cover the back, move out!", Goke gasped as his group of criminals started to move towards the school and Johnny's group.

"Johnny, here they come, aim for the head", Wolcroft whispered as he tightened his grip on his gun.

"I always aim for the head", Johnny replied.

It was very dark in the school as the lights were turned off but Goke and his comrades had flashlights ready. Joe used his to inspect the front door.

"Boss, they looks like they barricaded the door from the inside, as expected."

"Doesn't matter, we'll go through the windows. Joe, with me, the rest of you, go through the right side", Goke ordered them as they separated according to the plan.

"Shit, we forgot to bar the windows...well, it's too late for that now, just focus on taking them out before they get to the kids", Johnny whispered. Wolcroft nodded.

Goke used his gun to break the first window he encountered. He entered the classroom with Joe's help, then helped him also enter the room. They were just one classroom away from Jay and Huggins, and they slowly opened the door: it was very dark in the main hall. Then they heard another what sounded like another window getting shattered, and the other trio entered the school, into the side hall.

Goke signalled them to come to the main hall.

But as they approached each other, Huggins suddenly left his cover and started to run towards them:

"Die, you bastards!", the old man yelled, charging at them with Lynn's bat, but before he could get close to them, Goke shot him in the head, killing him instantly.

"What the fuck was the that for? Crazy old bastard", Joe hissed.

"They have balls, I'll give them that", Goke chuckled. Jay just looked in disbelief from his cover.

"Now, Johnny, shoot them!", Wolcroft yelled as he and Johnny rose from their cover and shot toward the bandits. They couldn't see anything in the dark, but they shot at directions, hoping to hit their vital spots.

And they managed to hit them. Johnny's bullet hit Tiny in the neck, causing him to fall down and start to choke on his own blood, horrifying his comrades, except Goke, who just smirked. Wolcroft's bullet hit Al in his right shoulder, causing him to leap back from the pain.

"Fuck, it hurts!", Al screamed.

Goke. Ryan and Joe started to return fire, but before Goke shot Tiny in the head to ease his suffering (or for his own violent tendencies?), causing Johnny and Wolcroft to duck again behind cover.

"Great, what now? We're still outgunned!", Wolcroft shouted.

"Just stay patient...", Johnny said calmly.

"Hey, over here you idiots!", Jay yelled from his classroom, closing the door and barring it with a chair and a table.

The criminals briefly turned their attention towards him, enough for Johnny and Wolcroft to leap out of their cover, and shoot several times towards the Goke's group.

Wolcroft missed but Johnny was able to hit Al several times in the chest, mortally wounding him and causing him to fall to the ground.

 _So fucking useless,_ thought Goke as he shot his comrade in the head, killing him.

"You two stay here and try not to fucking die for at least a minute okay?!", Goke screamed as he grabbed Lynn's bat from the ground and went to the classroom where Jay was hiding. He destroyed the door with the bat and pushed through the improvised barricade that Jay made with a chair and table, seeing that Jay was hiding under the teacher's table. Goke's eyes were now adapted to the dark around.

"Little pig, little pig, where are you, little pig?", Goke whistled as he slowly walked towards Jay.

"Oh, there you are", Goke grinned, as he swung his bat and hit Jay's right knee as he tried to retreat.

"Oh shit, please, just let me live, please, I can't…", Jay desperately pleaded, but Goke continued to hit him all over the body, until most of his bones were crushed.

"Kill...me...", Jay whispered.

"With pleasure", Jay chuckled as he crushed hit head with several hit from the bat, brutally killing him.

He then returned to the main hall, where Joe and Ryan were exchanging gunfire with Johnny and Wolcroft.

"Ryan, please I'm begging you, I really don't want to kill you. You are my friend what are you doing with a monster like Goke?!", Johnny yelled, trying to persuade him to join their side.

"Ryan, remember who saved you, it wasn't Johnny, but it was me, Goke", Goke whispered in her ears.

"Yes but...", Ryan fell to the ground, not knowing what to do. He was torn between two sides.

On the second floor, in the farthest classroom, were the rest of the group stationed.

Lynn had her younger brother in her lap as he was trying to sleep and forget about the pain in his eye and head.

"When will this finally end...", Leni wept through her tears, as Lori was hugging her tightly.

"Soon I hope, soon...", Bobby added, as he standing by the front door, in case any of the criminals broke went up to the second floor.

"Boss, the infected are closing in, they are surrounding the school! Maybe we should escape...", Joe screamed as his greatest fear was getting eaten alive.

"Not until they're all dead...", Goke rasped as he destroyed the barricade and opened the front door.

 _Feel free to come in my dear infected friends,_ Goke laughed maniacally.

"Ryan, please! There are children here, think about them if you don't give a shit about, please!", Johnny yelled in last attempt to persuade his (former) friend, as he and Wolcroft were out of bullets.

"Ah, fuck it all!", Ryan shouted as he pointed his gun at Joe and pulled the trigger, shooting him in the head.

Johnny and Wolcroft were both overjoyed but also shocked, as they saw the approaching horde coming closer and closer to the school.

"We have to get out of here, we have to warn the others", Johnny and Wolcroft rushed to the classroom where the rest of their group was sheltered.

"The whole school is gonna get overrun, we have to escape, now! Come on!", Johnny yelled as he signalled towards outside.

"What about Lincoln?", Lynn was concerned about her little brother.

"I'll carry him come on", Johnny replied.

"Goke, listen man, I didn't mean to-", but before he could finish his sentence, he was shot in the head by Goke.

"Fucking worthless scum, all of them", Goke hissed as he left the school but was greeted by the undead. He started to shoot them and carve a path to escape. He nearly succeeded in doing so, until he was bitten on his left forearm by a lurker zombie.

"Ah yes, so that's how it feels...", he chuckled as he started to sprint away from the school.

Johnny's group went downstairs but the infected were already bursting through the front door.

"Through the window, come on!", Johnny yelled while he carried the injured Lincoln.

One by one, they managed to escape through the hole that Goke's group made.

But unfortunately for them, they were starting to encircled.

"Go with the kids, save them, I'll carve a path through!", Wolcroft yelled as he started to attack the infected with Lynn's baseball bat that he had grabbed as they passed through.

"What about you?!"

"Just go, I'll find you!"

Thanks to Wolcroft's bravery, a path was cleared and most of the infected now started to focus on him.

"Where to now?!", Lynn screamed.

"South, just go south!", Johnny replied as the entire group started to run.

But, unfortunately for Wolcroft, he was slowly swarmed by the massive horde of the undead and started to get devoured by them.

"At least the kids are safe...", Wolcroft whispered his last words.


End file.
